Entrepreneur of the Year 2025: How Joey St-Aubin grew Canlan from a single rink into a North American sports giant

Oshawa-born Joey St-Aubin happily fits the True North stereotype: “I grew up with a hockey stick in my hands and skates on my feet,” he says. At 17, he was drafted to the Ontario Hockey League—first the Ottawa 67s, then the Kitchener Rangers (he played in the 1990 Memorial Cup finals). Throughout his junior career he dabbled in entrepreneurship, including making furniture out of his billet’s garage and doing some marketing for a local small business. “When the time came to hang up the blades, I had a dozen little ventures under my belt,” he shares. He started his own hockey tournament company and thanks his mother for her assist in scoring a job at Canlan: the B.C.-based recreational sports facility was building a new rink in Oshawa, and she suggested he call them to book some ice time.

During that call, St-Aubin asked if Canlan was hiring, and quickly proved himself to be an MVP for the biz—starting as a general manager and rapidly moving up in ranks. In his 17 years at the helm, he’s grown Canlan to 47 ice surfaces, 10 indoor soccer fields and 10 hard courts across North America. St-Aubin’s playbook includes strategic surface planning (optimizing ice times to keep concessions buzzy and revenue up) and focusing on data-driven decision-making. The CEO recalls his youth—playing road hockey every day and only returning home when the streetlights came on—and hopes to inspire a new generation with the same passion for sports and recreation.

In addition to traditional rinks, fields and courts, St-Aubin’s company offers interactive sports simulators and arcade games. “We’re drawing new people into our buildings so that we can expose them to physical sports,” he says. AI-generated announcers for youth hockey (that make every player feel like a pro) are not far away. And he can’t resist a final sports analogy: “It’s one thing to be at the top of your game today, but for me, it’s important that we’re at the top of our game 10 or 20 years from now.”

Describe your dream employee in three words.

Accountable, collaborative, passionate. 

How do you celebrate your achievements?

A great meal with loved ones. 

Your proudest moment in business?

I’m living it. Leading a company and brand that does things the right way, for the right reasons, shaping a better future for our employees and for our customers,  all while keeping it fun, fresh and exciting.