Once upon a time there was this guy, Pete. Pete grew up playing road hockey every night on his suburban street in Pickering, Ontario until the lights came on and his Mom yelled at him to come in for dinner. Despite very much enjoying playing on his Roller Blades, Pete had never played ice hockey. Fast forward to 2016 and he was 30 years old, living in Toronto, and decided he was gonna start. He joined a league for beginners as well as some learn-to-play programs and fell in love with the sport. 

Speaking of falling in love, soon after starting to play hockey, Pete met Shelby while attending a work conference in Las Vegas. Unlike Pete, Shelby did not start playing hockey as an adult. She started when she was 3 years old, and following her successful minor hockey career playing in her home town of Hamilton, Ontario, Shelby received a full-ride scholarship to attend Quinnipiac University in Connecticut and played Division 1 Hockey in the NCAA like a friggin’ boss.

The couple bonded over their mutual love for the sport despite their very different backgrounds in it, and soon moved to Peterborough, Ontario to start a life together. Pete wanted to keep developing his abilities as an adult hockey player, but unfortunately there was nothing local for grown-ups who wanted to learn and improve. As opposed to driving over an hour away to the closest existing option, they decided to start their own, and in early 2020 Beer League Hockey Practice was born. Pete’s understanding of what it’s like being an adult who’s new to the sport, Shelby’s experience as an elite player, as well as both of their backgrounds in business and marketing led to a successful launch of BLHP in their new town (despite Covid being a real jerk about it).

Following the success of the first BLHP season, Pete and Shelby figured it might work in other towns as well. Move ahead about 5 years and Beer League Hockey Practice programs are available in cities all across Ontario.

With the success of BLHP came demand from participants for a place to play. Shinny programs were launched to provide a gameplay environment without the pressure of keeping score, and then in the fall of 2023 in Shelby’s hometown, the first season of Canadian Beer League launched.

Canadian Beer League soon expanded to more and more towns across the province, and it became clear that in addition to being a successful program, it was also going to be the organization’s key brand. In the spring of 2025, Beer League Hockey Practice as an overall organization rebranded to Canadian Beer League. BLHP is still a cornerstone of the business, and will forever be a key part of what Canadian Beer League has to offer.

Canadian Beer League could not exist without the incredible community of participants, coaches, referees, scorekeepers, administrative & creative contributors, and so many more individuals who believe in the vibes and the vision. The gratitude CBL has for these amazing people cannot be overstated, and there’s no doubt that more and more Canadians across our great country will be joining the Canadian Beer League community for many years to come.