McDonald’s Canada Revives Mini Stick Collectibles With NHL Star Sticks Meal

McDonald's Canada is back on the ice with a new collectible campaign, this time handing fans a mini piece of hockey history.

The NHL Star Sticks Meal was developed in partnership with the NHL and NHLPA by creative agency Cossette, with PR support from Weber Shandwick Toronto.

It launched on March 3 at participating restaurants across the country.

The campaign includes a 30-second spot starring NHL players Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews.

Each meal includes a choice of entree, medium fries, a medium drink, and one of seven mini hockey stick collectibles featuring some of the league's biggest names.

For brands looking to drive awareness and in-store urgency, the campaign offers a clear model for using collectibles as a purchase trigger.

Seven Stars, One Meal, and a 20-Year Callback

The NHL Star Stick lineup features McDavid, Matthews, Macklin Celebrini, Quinn Hughes, Cale Makar, Sam Reinhart, and Samuel Montembeault.

Each player represents a different NHL market, giving the campaign natural geographic reach across Canada.

The 30-second spot opens with McDavid and Matthews in their jerseys at a McDonald's, each revealing their NHL Star Stick before lightning bolts strike the collectibles.

It cuts to the two facing off on a miniature ice rink styled like a McDonald's table, complete with food surrounding the rink.

The campaign's collectible format also has history.

McDonald's Canada debuted mini hockey sticks nearly 20 years ago, and the return of the format is a deliberate nod to that earlier run.

McDonald's Canada CMO Francesca Cardarelli framed the campaign around the intersection of food and fandom:

"The NHL Star Sticks Meal is all about giving fans a chance to own a piece of the game they love," she explained in a statement.

"It's a true celebration of hockey culture and as the Official Hamburger of the NHL and NHLPA in Canada, we're excited to bring this to our fans."

Hockey Culture as a Year-Round Marketing Tool

McDonald's has held Official Hamburger of the NHL and NHLPA status in Canada for years, and this campaign puts that partnership to direct commercial use.

The seven-player roster covers a broad cross-section of the league's most followed athletes.

McDavid leads the Edmonton Oilers, Matthews anchors the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Celebrini is the San Jose Sharks' most high-profile rookie in years.

Fans can order in-restaurant, through the McDonald's app, or via McDelivery, with the app option opening a direct channel for loyalty data collection alongside the collectible mechanic.

The campaign connects several elements that individually work well and are more effective together:

• Collectibles drive repeat visits: Seven variants across a limited window give fans a concrete reason to return multiple times.
• Multi-player rosters expand reach: Each athlete brings a distinct fanbase, extending the campaign's organic social footprint across different markets.
• Nostalgia lowers resistance: Reviving a format fans already remember removes the explanation burden and lets the product do the work.

When a collectible mechanic taps into a sport fans already love, the limited-time pressure handles the rest. This is the core logic behind nostalgia marketing at its most effective.

Our Take: Does Hockey Nostalgia Work at the Drive-Thru?

We think this one scores big, and not just because the mechanic is solid.

Hockey in Canada is a year-round passion, and McDonald's has spent years earning the right to attach itself to that feeling.

I grew up in Canada during the original mini stick era, and these collectibles had a real pull.

This kind of memory is hard to manufacture, and McDonald's is smart to call it back.

Brands activating around sports culture need agencies that understand how to build collectible campaigns with real purchase urgency.

Explore the top sports marketing agencies in our directory.