All photos courtesy of Sam Carrick
When New York Rangers forward Sam Carrick and his brothers, Jake and Josh, launched their business venture five years ago, the siblings would soon realize they had tapped into something special.
It was in May 2020 when the trio unveiled Carrick Bros. – a company that takes an organic approach to delivering maple syrup and other products from maple trees in Ontario to homes throughout Canada and the United States.
"Growing up, my grandfather had a farm close to where we were living,” recalled Sam, who was selected 144th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2010 NHL Draft. “It was a hobby for him – he would tap a couple 100 trees in the spring and then collect and boil the syrup to give away to friends and family."
The Carrick boys spent countless hours on the farm, helping to collect the sap from trees and other jobs related to the maple syrup process.
It was a labour of love for the brothers and their cousins.
“There are seven grandkids, so we were all involved in some way, helping him out, for something fun to do in the spring,” said Sam.
That enjoyment eventually turned into discussions between the brothers about starting their own maple syrup company.
When the timing aligned for all three, they decided to give it a go.
"My brothers had graduated university and were looking to get into the business world,” said Sam. “We have a real estate agent friend, who had a farm up north in Ontario with a lot of maple trees. It was already in operation, what he was selling, so we got together and decided to start a maple syrup brand.”
“What really interested us is that we all enjoy the outdoors, so this was something that would speak to that and hopefully be successful.”
It most certainly has.
“The whole experience has been super rewarding,” said Sam, who signed a three-year contract as a free agent with the Rangers last July. “It's brought us closer together as brothers, people seem to love it and are intrigued by it. The feedback has been very positive.”
One of the company’s biggest fans is Lennon Trocheck, daughter of Rangers teammate and forward, Vincent Trocheck.
“She's our No. 1 New York customer, for sure,” noted Sam. “She's awesome – she goes through a bottle a week.”
Outside of happy customers and a longstanding association with maple syrup, the company has also allowed the Carrick brothers to further their enjoyment of the great outdoors.
While the process of collecting syrup is laborious, the trio isn’t complaining.
In fact, they see every day on the farm as an ideal one.
“At the end of the day, it's fun to do. It is a lot of work, but when you are done for the day, you can do a little ice fishing or drive the snowmobiles around the trails.
“You put a good day's work in and then you get to enjoy the outdoors.”
Sam, who after playing for Toronto went on to represent Anaheim and Edmonton before the Rangers, has high praise for his brothers.
“My brothers are outside a lot, tapping trees – it's a lot of physical work, for sure. But they love it. Where they are is a beautiful part of the province – lots of snow. It's been a lot more fun than expected. That's easy for me to say because my brothers are doing a lot of the work, but for me, I am helping promote a lot.
“Unfortunately, I can't be there during the hockey season, but there will be plenty of time down the road.”
Whenever he does get the chance to join his brothers, they typically aren’t the only ones on the property.
Just like their childhood days on their grandfather’s farm, there are plenty of helping hands to be found.
“A lot of people want to come up and check it out, see the farm and what we do. We have a lot of buddies back home who will come out and tap trees – it's like a community that brings people together.
“The whole experience has been super rewarding.”
As for business advice to other players throughout the NHL, the 32-year-old encouraged his contemporaries to not shy away from exploring opportunities outside of their pro hockey careers.
“I would say to anyone who is on the fence about doing something, you might as well give it a try. If it does succeed, great, and if not, you tried and you will likely get something out of it.”
Which is precisely what the Carrick brothers have discovered.
“It's something we never expected to get into growing up, but it just kind of happened,” said Sam. “We just decided to go for it, and I am glad we did.”
