Welcome To Team Verbero, Blake Bolden!

Hockey trailblazer Blake Bolden is an official Verbero athlete

Be bold. Be different. Be Verbero.

Verbero is proud to introduce trailblazer Blake Bolden as an official Verbero Athlete, welcoming the National Hockey League professional scout and former National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) defender to Team Verbero.

Bolden—a young and influential presence in hockey today—has undertaken a ‘be bold’ approach to the game and its future all her life. The Cleveland, OH, product was the first Black player to compete in the NWHL and is the second-ever NHL female scout. Bolden’s ground-breaking and empowering effect aligns with the core identity of Verbero, producing an alliance dedicated to fostering advancement in hockey.

“My slogan is to ‘Be bold’ and I love that Verbero’s is ‘Be different,’” Bolden, 29, said.  

“I resonate with it because my experiences in the game and everything that I’ve done has, really, been about being different. It’s all been around being bold and standing in a space where not a lot of people stand. It coincides nicely.”

Verbero will be debuting the first female-named stick in Bolden’s honor, fitting it with custom graphics and specs all hockey players should expect from their equipment. Verbero will also bring full flex intermediate profile shafts to optimize performance for players desiring a thinner diameter shaft.

“We are honored to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with Blake as she is one of the most incredible people and athletes I have come across,” Verbero Owner and CEO Andy Sutton said. “Verbero will work with Blake to bring progressive and long-overdue initiatives into the game of hockey."

Verbero and Bolden will continue to strengthen the fabric of the game by encouraging its evolution and delivering accessibility to all. Verbero produces top-tier equipment technology, provides a team-friendly E-commerce experience for consumers and is devoted to advocating for progression beyond the rink.

“Verbero won’t stop pushing until performance, innovation and support are all uttered in the same sentence, propelling women's hockey to its rightful position at the top of the game," Sutton added. 

“Blake shoots the puck at over 90 mph and skates like the wind. No one should ever have to stand in front of that shot wearing sub-standard equipment and people should appreciate and revere the caliber of female athletes."

Committed to breaking barriers both on and off the ice, Bolden has been tabbed as one of hockey’s most influential voices while serving as an active mentor and supporter of female hockey players globally.

“Women are just so powerful in the way that we fight for every piece that we can get and we’re always going to push for equality and visibility,” Bolden said. 

“The fact that a brand is looking to give us that power and to partner with a woman, it’s inspirational. Andy’s doing it genuinely because he believes that’s the right thing to do. That speaks volumes to being different—that’s exactly what it is!”

Over three seasons in the NWHL, Bolden collected three goals, 25 assists and 28 points in 51 games. In 2019, the blueliner won the NWHL Defensive Player of the Year Award and also registered the hardest shot at the NWHL All-Star Skills Competition.

“Everybody can relate to being appreciated for who they are and I think Verbero is so creative in that aspect where they give you the tools and products to be yourself, truly,” Bolden said. 

“You’re custom with Verbero.”