NHL Hockey Innovation Competition selects winning proposals

OTTAWA -- Hockey communities across Canada face a growing challenge. Nearly half of the country’s arenas are more than 60 years old, and aging facilities, limited ice availability, and rink shortages are making it harder for players and fans to engage with the game. For many families, especially those in lower-income communities, access to safe facilities and quality programming remains out of reach.

Upgrading hockey infrastructure doesn’t come cheap, and traditional models are being pushed to their limits.

To address those pressures, the NHL and NHLPA turned to a new generation of thinkers. The third edition of the NHL Hockey Innovation Competition presented by SAP invited Ontario-based post-secondary students to pitch bold, practical solutions for hockey infrastructure — ideas aimed at expanding access, improving participation and modernizing arenas for the future of the sport. 

“We’ve been working on this for a while,” said Mandi Duhamel, NHL Vice President of Community Development and Growth. “Part of the Industry Growth Fund is all about where our investments should go to better the game for the future. How do you benefit Canadian families? How do you get more people into hockey and make access easier?”

Across its first three editions, the competition has drawn 135 submissions from 36 educational institutions, involving more than 615 students.

“Who better to look at the game from a fresh lens?” Duhamel said. “Even those who haven’t played or have played, you have both in and out perspectives. They’re very futuristic-looking. They’re technology-based, environmentally friendly. The next generation just sees things so new and fresh.” 

The top 20 teams advanced to virtual interviews in February before being narrowed down to six finalists. Those teams were then paired with NHL and SAP mentors to refine their ideas ahead of Final Pitch Day on Wednesday at Canadian Tire Centre, home of the Ottawa Senators. 

The six finalist teams pitched ideas including an equipment-sharing library, convertible multi-use courts, kinetic energy-generating floors, an AI-powered arena app, and two arena retrofit models focused on heat recovery and digital management.

After an hour of deliberation, the four judges awarded a tie for the first time in the competition’s history.

“The Innovator Award” was shared by First-Line’s Jordan Bates (Queen’s University) and the Reignite the Rink team: Sausha Goodhand, Elle Hebert, Airika Natyshak, and Aryanna Pierson (St. Clair College).

The Reignite the Rink concept focused on retrofitting aging arenas by capturing and redistributing waste heat from refrigeration systems, integrating modular multi-use spaces, and connecting communities through a digital platform to create year-round hubs.

“It means everything,” Hebert said, in tears after winning. “It was just so cool to see our ideas come to life and be able to share it today. So that’s what it means to us, and hopefully we’ll make a real impact on the community.”

During their pitch, the team noted that arenas are under increasing pressure, with ice refrigeration alone often costing more than $160,000, leaving many other areas of facilities aging, underused, and outdated.

“We made a lot of good connections, so hopefully we can stay in contact with them and start implementing everything,” Pierson said.

In Bates’ pitch, the focus was on improving the fan experience inside NHL arenas through a smart app that uses real-time AI and SAP analytics to optimize seating, concessions, navigation, and in-game engagement.

“For some small little idea to turn into something that could really be implemented into the NHL and that’s celebrated by judges and personnel in the industry is incredible,” said Bates, the only one-person team in the final six. “I want to thank my mentors and the NHL for putting on this incredible event.” 

Bates said his own experiences attending games helped shape the idea, particularly noticing empty seats in premium sections. One proposed feature uses AI to identify unsold lower-bowl seats and offer real-time upgrades to eligible fans.

The judges also handed out “The Changemaker Award” to the Every Step Counts team from the University of Guelph, including Alexandra Cohen, Emily Miasik, Mackenzie Nyusa, and Lila Pringle.

Their concept uses kinetic floor tiles in NHL arena entrances and Kids Zones to turn fan movement into renewable energy, creating an interactive, data-driven gameday experience.

“This project was very tedious,” Miasik said. “It took a lot of hard work and dedication, a lot of late nights and early mornings, lots of team calls with one another, like constantly in meetings, and thankfully, we didn't get sick of each other.” 

“It honestly means the world seeing our final project being presented on a stage as such, we put so much work, dedication and time into this project and seeing it all complete and being able to give the final presentation, that it was so fulfilling,” she added. 

Duhamel said she hopes the student projects will inspire new ideas and help grow hockey in Canada, aiming to reach one million players.

“It’s less about grabbing one idea and making it come to life,” Duhamel said. “It’s more about hearing perspectives of unique ways that we can share with our innovation team and share with different variations of the NHL employees to direct more of our overall strategy.”