Est. 1988 — Surrey to Langley, BC

Our journey.

Take a trip down memory lane.

Shop dogs, hockey legends, a fire that nearly ended it all — and the comeback that made us bigger than ever. This is 38 years of The Hockey Shop.

Visit us in Langley About The Hockey Shop

1988 The year it all began

4 Buildings, each one bigger

3× Bauer Retailer of the Year

5 Shop dogs & counting

The long version

Thirty-eight years, in order.

Four buildings, three moves, one fire, and a whole lot of hockey. Here is how it actually happened.

1988–1991

The early years

A tiny storefront, a yellow lab, and the single decision Rod would later call the most important the company ever made.

1988

The original store
The Hockey Shop opens for business.
Not too many people remember our original location, but it's where it all started — a tiny store with a lot of heart. Rod and Ursula Bolivar, along with their son, Chad, start out with a relentless focus on providing best-in-class customer service, which would supply a blueprint for decades to come.
1991

Our first move. The store is growing!
The store is growing, and we need a bigger establishment. This new location was four times the size of the original, which was bursting at the seams. The Hockey Shop also decides to focus exclusively on hockey, allowing us to concentrate more on specialized areas of the shop, such as our goalie section.
1991

We officially join Source for Sports.
What Rod would later point to as the company's most important decision to date, The Hockey Shop joins Source for Sports. By joining the largest buying group in Canada, we now have access to a national buying power and much greater marketing exposure. The store just keeps growing and building connections, and we are only just getting started.

2000–2010

Finding our stride

New partners, a third location, and the first of the NHL signings that would become a shop tradition.

2000

A new partnership is formed.
Ken and Susan Whiddington buy 50% of The Hockey Shop. Along with their son, Brad, they join the ever-growing business. This new partnership would set the stage to take the shop to the next level.
2010

18,000 sq. ft. across three floors
Move to our third location.
Positioned just across the street in the former A&B Sound, this building would be the Shop's third location. It features 18k sq. ft. across three floors and allows us to expand the goalie department and add a shooting lane for demo sticks. Most importantly, it also gives us the much-needed added space to serve our customers better.

2017 — 2018

The year the store burned down.

2017 is inarguably the toughest year in the history of The Hockey Shop. It took a full season in a temporary building, the biggest single sales day any hockey shop has ever had, and a year of rebuilding to get back through our own front door.

In the face of adversity and an unclear future, we were able to rebuild and prevail — bigger and stronger than ever.

September 23, 2017
The fire.
On the morning of September 23rd, we arrive to find the store is on fire. The store suffers extensive damage, and all the equipment and gear inside are deemed unsalvageable due to water and smoke damage. The future of the business is uncertain.
2017
A temporary store, and the Fire Sale.
But the hockey season has just started, and the Shop is determined to let the show go on. We move to a temporary location and buy back our stock. Meanwhile, we have the biggest single day of sales — in the history of all hockey shops, everywhere. Our Fire Sale was a liquidation event to help us start on the road back.
2018
The Big Return.
After a full year of rebuilding, it was time to finally head home. It's been a long haul and a ton of work, but it's good to finally be home.

After the fire

Bigger and stronger than ever.

The rebuild did not stop at the front door. Within four years we had outgrown the building we had just finished putting back together.

2021–2022

Coming home to Langley

After 33 years in Surrey, we drew up a building nearly double the size and moved the whole shop east.

2021

Lots of planning!
We were extremely busy in 2021 drafting blueprints of our new headquarters. We acquired a new building nearly double the size and worked on floorplans and layout. We got the keys and began building!
2022

Grand opening day, Langley
The Langley store opens.
We relocated to Langley after 33 years in Surrey. Our new store offers a larger selection of products and improved facilities, including specialized sections for teams and goalies, shooting lanes, and a state-of-the-art skate sharpening department. This move allowed us to better serve the hockey community with enhanced services and a wider range of equipment!
Visit the Langley store

2023–2026

Where we are now

Anniversary sales, goalie festivals, a golf tournament, and at least one secret we are not allowed to tell you yet.

2023

35th anniversary sale.
We celebrate our 35th anniversary by hosting a major sale, offering significant discounts on top-brand hockey gear. This event was our way of thanking the hockey community for their continued support over the years, providing exclusive deals and special promotions to our loyal customers.
2024

Return of Tendyfest 6.
We proudly hosted Tendyfest 6, a celebration for hockey goalies featuring exclusive equipment deals, pro demonstrations, and hands-on training sessions. This event brought the goalie community together, showcasing our dedication to supporting and equipping goalies with the best gear and knowledge in the sport.
2025

The THS Open — our 2nd annual golf tournament.
The Hockey Shop trades skates for spikes and hosts our 2nd annual THS Open golf tournament at Redwoods Golf Course. A full field of customers, staff, and friends of the shop hit the links for a day of golf, prizes, and community.
thsopen.com
2026

Friday, 2026
Meet Friday.
The new teammate we spent the fall teasing turned out to have four legs. Friday, a golden retriever, is the fifth shop dog in The Hockey Shop's history, and she joined the Langley store in 2026. Come say hello next time you're in.

Through our doors

The signing wall.

Hosting players has been a shop tradition since 1991. Some of them you queued up around the block for.

Trevor Linden1991 · Canucks captainAn exclusive signing and meet-and-greet with the captain of the Vancouver Canucks.
Dominik Hasek1996 · Buffalo SabresThe Dominator, mid-dynasty. He'd won the Vezina in 1994 and 1995, and would win it again from 1997–1999 and in 2001.
Daniel & Henrik Sedin2001 · Vancouver CanucksTwo Swedish forwards starting their second NHL seasons — and the fourth set of twins ever to play in the league.
The Sedins, again2008 · Vancouver CanucksBack for a second signing, two years before they led the Canucks as captain and alternate captain.
Roberto Luongo2011 · Vancouver CanucksHis best save percentage to that point at .928, in the season the Canucks reached the Stanley Cup Final.
Kevin Bieksa2014 · Easton private eventFifty ticket holders, plus young players from Vos Hockey and Sully's Hockey Instruction.
Eddie Lack2014 · Vancouver CanucksA .912 save percentage in his first year in the NHL.
Alex Burrows2014 · Warrior Hockey TourThe #GetQuick Challenge shoot-off on September 13. Fastest time won a Warrior QR1.
Jarry, Brossoit & Jones2015 · Vaughn goalie nightTristan Jarry, Laurent Brossoit and Martin Jones took questions from the goalie crowd.
Bo Horvat2019 · Canucks captainNamed the 14th captain in Canucks history a few months before he came by.

A selection of the signings, meet-and-greets and demo nights we've hosted between 1991 and today.

Recognition

Bauer Canadian Retailer of the Year. Three times.

Every year, Bauer names a best retailer for Canada, the USA, and the rest of the world, announced at their annual BauerWorld event. It is the only award of its kind in the hockey industry.

2013
Our first Canadian Retailer of the Year.
In 2013 it was our turn to win the award for Canada. It is the only award of its kind within the hockey industry, and truly an honour to receive.
2014
Back-to-back.
We win it for the second year in a row. It was a pleasant, if welcome, surprise — Bauer employees themselves had to verify with us back home for us to believe it actually happened. We must have been doing something right.
2020
The third one, after the fire.
This one has all the feels. We had to work so hard to get back on our feet after the fire, and it felt really special to be recognized with this award after the fact.

Fixtures of the shop

Five shop dogs, and counting.

The original store had one more important fixture: a yellow labrador named Goldie. Goldie, followed by Winnie, Daisy and Bodhi, gave a lot of love to our customers and staff over many years. In 2026 a golden retriever named Friday took over the job.

5Shop dogs since 1988