Nike Bauer Honors the Past for Hockey's Future

BUFFALO, N.Y., Dec. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Several members of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres will be going 'back in time' to raise money for the future players of the game when the teams take to the outdoor ice on January 1 at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Nike Bauer Hockey has designed retro skates and sticks for several members of both teams, including Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Brooks Orpik, Sergei Gonchar and Adam Hall; and Buffalo's Paul Gaustad, Henrik Tallinder, Toni Lydman and Drew Stafford. The players are expected to wear the skates and use the sticks for this one-time event before the equipment is officially retired following the game. Players will also autograph additional retro skates and sticks, which will be auctioned off at a later date.

The proceeds of the auction will benefit the National Hockey League Players' Association's Goals & Dreams fund's efforts in Pittsburgh and Buffalo. Launched in 1999 as a way for the players to give something back to the game they love, Goals & Dreams has donated complete sets of equipment to more than 8,000 underprivileged kids in 17 countries. In addition to the proceeds of the auction, Nike Bauer Hockey is celebrating the outdoor event and the New Year by donating 108 sets of head-to-toe equipment including skates, helmets, sticks, gloves and under-protective gear in players names to the NHLPA Goals & Dreams Fund.

"This unique outdoor event provides us with an opportunity to honor the history and tradition of the game while also doing our part to help grow the sport," said Mark Duggan, President and CEO, Nike Bauer Hockey. "As a company, we are committed to growing the game and by partnering with the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund, we are providing resources to kids who may not otherwise have an opportunity to play hockey."

The skates designed by Nike Bauer Hockey are replicas of Bauer skates first introduced in 1968. While the skates have the look of the historic Bauer Supreme 89 and Bauer Supreme 91 skates from 1968 -- with brown and black leather -- the skate has the same high-end technical features and characteristics of today's Nike Bauer Vapor XXXX and Nike Bauer Supreme One90 skates. The sticks that will be used during the game are wood finished Nike Bauer Vapor XXXX and Nike Bauer Supreme One90 sticks.

"We're pleased that Nike Bauer approached us with this idea, because it's a unique way for the players, the NHLPA and Nike Bauer to give back to the game," said Devin Smith, Chairman of the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund. "It will be an exciting event and it will be great to see players wearing the old-style looking skates and sticks that so many players used when they first took to the frozen lakes and ponds."

For more information on how to bid on the auctioned skates and sticks, visit http://www.nikebauer.com/blog or http://www.nhlpa.com