In a photo shoot, Montreal Victoire defender Erin Ambrose sports a bucket hat and a grey t-shirt that shows a fist in the air, covered in a hockey glove and draped in a rainbow flag.
“Be you,” is written on the glove.
It’s an eye-catching shirt, and in her second year of creating her own Pride apparel line with CCM Hockey, it’s the defender’s favourite design so far.
“I just think it’s a very powerful thing,” Ambrose said in an interview with CBC Sports. “You think of just the symbol of a fist up in the air and what that does stand for.”
For Ambrose, it’s not just a fashion statement. The hockey-gloved fist in the air is a sign of protest, an act of standing up for a community that’s increasingly been under attack over the last couple of years.
It’s the boldest item that’s been released as part of Ambrose’s collaboration with CCM Hockey so far, and one that Ambrose is proud to wear.
“It’s so important because as welcome as I feel in the community, as accepted as I feel in my day-to-day life, I know that I am still a minority in saying that,” Ambrose said.
For Ambrose, it’s also a way of merging two parts of her.
There’s Ambrose the hockey player, an Olympic gold medallist and 2024 Defender of the Year in the PWHL. You’re probably used to seeing her in Team Canada colours or a Victoire jersey.
But there’s also Ambrose the person, an openly gay woman who wears her heart on her sleeve, and is always thinking of ways she can make the 2SLGBTQ+ community safer for everyone.
The shirts, hats and sweat suit that are part of her clothing line reflect that part of Ambrose — someone who’s grown in what she wears and how she feels comfortable representing herself.
“As I’ve gotten older, I also am getting more comfortable wearing the rainbow around,” the 31-year-old from Keswick, Ont. said.
“There are still places I might think twice about it and I wish that wasn’t the case. But at the same time, I have no problem walking my dog with the [Pride] graphic T-shirt on.”
The hints of rainbow are subtle in some of the designs, ranging from the boldness of the gloved fist to bright colours highlighted in the CCM logo.
WATCH | Ambrose on the importance of embracing Pride in the PWHL:
Erin Ambrose on the importance of embracing Pride in the PWHL
But it may actually be the rainbow CCM logo, one that’s historically been associated with men playing sports, that says the most.
“I think it actually makes the biggest statement because CCM allowed for their logo to be put in rainbow, and we’re talking about a hockey company that has been around for over 100 years,” Ambrose said. “That doesn’t usually happen.”
Ambrose was approached to create the line by Dale Williams, CCM Hockey’s global sports marketing manager.
Year 1 was about creating the basics, but Year 2 of the line takes it a step further.
“With the 2025 Erin Ambrose 23 collection, we wanted to bring hockey into a space where it hasn’t traditionally had a strong presence,” said Marrouane Nabih, CCM Hockey’s CEO. “It goes beyond the rink, showcasing authenticity, style and a sense of belonging.”
The league launched at a time when the NHL moved away from wearing custom jerseys for Pride and other causes, and for a brief time, barred players from using Pride tape in warmups.
But the PWHL is different. A significant number of players in the league are part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Some, like Ambrose, Boston Fleet forward Jamie Lee Rattray and Ottawa Charge forward Emily Clark, have used their platforms to advocate for the community they are part of.
It’s created a different atmosphere at PWHL games. Last year, a fan drove from New York to Montreal for that team’s Pride game.
They dressed in a full rainbow onesie, which caught Ambrose’s eye. She gave them a puck and tracked them down after the game to give them a stick, too.
That fan later wrote Ambrose a letter to say how much that night changed their life.
“It was such a little moment, but I was like, no, this is actually way bigger than just one fan making the drive because I know they’re not the only person that would feel more comfortable coming to a PWHL game than an NHL game,” she said.
When a teenaged Ambrose was rising through the hockey ranks and struggling with her own sexuality, she couldn’t have imagined her favourite player wearing Pride gear.
As she progressed in hockey, she’s been around more teammates who are out and open. She thinks about how much of a difference that might have made for players years ago.
She can’t go back in time, but she knows she has an ability and a platform now to help other people feel more comfortable or even just develop more understanding.
“I’m proud to be gay,” she said. “I’m proud to be a part of this community.”
