BC B U S I N E SS NOVEM B ER/ D ECEM B ER 2025 | 41
THE KICKOFF:
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). Through-
out his junior career he dabbled in entrepreneur-
ship, 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 recre-
ational sports facility was building a new rink in
Oshawa, and she suggested he call them to book
some ice time.
ACTION PLAN:
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.
CLOSING STATEMENT:
In addition to traditional rinks, fields and courts,
St-Aubin's company offers interactive sports sim-
ulators 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."–A.H.
Joey St-Aubin
PR ES I D ENT AN D C EO,
CA N L A N S P O R TS
FINALIST
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.
RAPID
FIRE
