Retired NHL tough guys are finding a second act in one of North America’s fastest-moving sectors: cannabis. For a growing group of former players, the plant isn’t just a pain-management tool anymore—it’s a business opportunity and a platform to push for reform in how athletes are treated.
Few embody that shift more clearly than former Philadelphia Flyers enforcer Riley Cote. After years of using cannabis quietly to manage pain, anxiety, and sleep during his playing days, Cote stepped fully into the space once he hung up the skates. He co-founded BodyChek Wellness, a CBD and functional mushroom brand built around recovery, balance, and everyday performance, offering tinctures, capsules, and topicals through bodychekwellness.com.
Cote didn’t stop at products. He launched the Hemp Heals Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes hemp, sustainable agriculture, and plant-based wellness, with education and advocacy front and center at hemphealsphilly.com. He also helped co-found Athletes for Care, a nonprofit at athletesforcare.org that supports athletes around mental health, brain injury, and access to cannabis and psychedelic therapies. For fans watching from the stands, Cote’s trajectory is a blueprint: use playing-days credibility to build brands that speak to recovery, not bravado.
In Detroit, four-time Stanley Cup champion Darren McCarty has become one of the most visible NHL alumni in cannabis. After battling alcoholism and going through multiple rehabs, McCarty credits cannabis with helping him get sober and stay there. That personal story now underpins The Darren McCarty Brand, a line of pre-rolls, flower and full-spectrum gummies created in partnership with Michigan cannabis company Pincanna and sold through outlets promoted at pincanna.com.
McCarty’s SKUs read like a fan’s fantasy power play: “POWER PLAY” THC gummies, “INTERMISSION” CBD, and combinations like “GAME DAY” (THC + CBD) and “LIGHTS OUT” (CBD + CBN) designed around sleep and recovery. For longtime Red Wings fans, seeing No. 25 move from the penalty box to the product shelf reinforces how mainstream athlete-driven brands have become in legal markets.
North of the border, former enforcer Ryan VandenBussche has taken a more B2B route but is just as embedded in the industry. Plagued by concussions and chronic pain after a rugged 14-year pro career, VandenBussche turned to medical cannabis as an alternative to opioid-based treatment. He went on to found New Leaf Canada Inc., a Health Canada-licensed cultivation and processing company focused on medical-grade cannabis and hemp from its facility in Ontario.
New Leaf Canada’s partnership with Athletes for Care in Canada—including a six-figure pledge to support research and education—shows how deeply VandenBussche has tied his brand to athlete wellness and advocacy rather than just consumer hype.
Taken together, these stories signal an unmistakable trend. Retired NHL players are not content to just lend their names to a label—they’re building nonprofits, wellness platforms, cultivation operations, and recovery-focused product lines that address the injuries and identity crises so common after pro sports. For fans, the crossover is compelling: the same players who once dropped the gloves are now helping drive a more honest conversation around pain, mental health, and safer alternatives.
In an industry crowded with celebrity endorsements, the NHL alumni turning their hardest lessons into brands, foundations, and policy work stand out. They’re not just selling cannabis; they’re trying to rewrite the playbook for how athletes heal.