Mark Streit’s lifelong goal was to always play in the National Hockey League, and that mission was accomplished long ago.
Upon retirement, though, the 2017 Stanley Cup champion wanted to stay in the league in a different way — as a business partner.
Since then, Streit has achieved his second NHL dream, as his luxury watch company, NORQAIN, has been named the league’s first official luxury sports watch partner.
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“For most young hockey players, the dream is to play in the NHL and only the very best get to make a career out of it,” Streit said in a release. “NORQAIN was built on belief … We dared to dream big, dared to believe that we could challenge the status quo and carve out our own path and make our mark. While this partnership aligns us even more closely to the great game of hockey and the NHL, our dreams don’t happen by chance, but through fight and determination. I’m so excited to see NORQAIN and the NHL enter into what I know will be an enormously successful long-term partnership.”
Watches are part of Streit’s Swiss culture, so he always had an interest but admittedly “didn’t know everything” growing up. He also had an interest in entrepreneurship after retirement and decided to take the challenge head-on.
“I was an ambassador for a pretty big watch brand for about seven or eight years when I still played. The company got sold, I retired in 2017, and my friend and I started our own brand. I had just retired, and we looked for a new challenge, and this was a perfect fit,” Streit told FOX Business in a recent interview. “It was interesting to do something besides hockey, because all my life, I did hockey. So I was really curious to be an entrepreneur and to be part of a startup, shall I say. I’m really glad I did it.”
Sidney Crosby, Streit’s former teammate, joined the brand as an investor in April.
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“I think he really fits in our DNA the way we carry ourselves. We’re an exciting, young, very creative, and innovative [company], and we always try to get better. That’s our philosophy. We never stop — you have to in this industry,” Streit said to FOX Business at the time.
And that’s one of the biggest similarities between being a successful athlete and running a successful business: teamwork.
But it’s also about being able to face challenges that arise. Streit said his team — including former NHLer Roman Josi, Crosby and others — executes its teamwork quite well.
“I think it’s important in life — sometimes you have ideas, and people are afraid to act on them — and I think being courageous is a big part of it,” Streit said. “Having the right team together is really important. At NORQAIN, we’ve had a great team from the beginning. It’s not a one-man show; we’re a whole unit. Everybody works together, feeds off each other, and challenges one another.
“It was important for me to do it with the right people who have the same values and passions I do. At the end of the day, if you want to be a great athlete and be successful, you have to work hard. The passion, dedication, resilience, and the ability to push through good and bad times — having that never-give-up mentality — those are the similarities between the sporting world and business.”
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