Snipe Lights Exclusive Interview with JD Ross of Hockey Gyms, Inc.

Snipe Lights was recently lucky enough to sit down for an interview with JD Ross, the founder and president of Hockey Gyms, Inc. Over the past five years, Ross has played a key role in the consultation, supply, and delivery of core products that have fueled the buildout of more than 50 commercial hockey gyms worldwide.

His motto, “Starting from the ice up,” reflects the foundation of his approach: synthetic skateable or slick flooring that allows athletes to train shooting, stickhandling, and passing—whether in skates or shoes—without being tied to the arena schedule.

With ice time often limited, the rise of commercial and residential training spaces has opened new doors for player development. From organizations and skills coaches to parents supporting their young athletes, more people are investing in accessible hockey-specific training than ever before, and Ross has been at the forefront of that movement.

Snipe Lights: Tell us about how you first started playing hockey and your playing career.

JD: I was a good Canadian boy, so I had the skates on quite early, but we can start where hockey really took on a more serious meaning – when I went from my hometown of Montreal to a prep school just on the border of Vermont in the eastern townships called Stanstead College. I played there for three years, then graduated and went to university in Kingston, Ontario, where I played for a local junior B club.

Not an illustrious hockey career from there, but I went overseas to Spain of all places. It was an amazing cultural experience. I got to play there for two years, one year in Madrid and the second year in Barcelona for Football Club Barcelona’s hockey section. That’s not the lifestyle money you’re ever going to get from playing hockey, but I made friendships that lasted a lifetime.

I finally made my way back to Quebec and got to play a little bit of senior hockey before ending up where everyone ends up – in the beer leagues, enjoying the locker room as much as the ice time with the boys.

Snipe Lights: You said you’re still in touch with folks from the early days?

JD: Exactly. Specifically, my prep school experience – I had three years there where I met guys from all around the world, mostly North Americans, but had a few internationals on the team. Then my time in Spain, they have an import restriction of seven imports. I got to meet guys and live with guys from Sweden, Czech Republic, Scotland. Those times where you’re living in a foreign country and being able to do hockey together, plus all the other fun stuff that comes with living in a Mediterranean country – it allowed me to live a pretty unique experience and still do what I love, which is play hockey.

Snipe Lights: That’s great. You made it further than most folks do, and you got to do it in a way that was different from a lot of folks too. So, transitioning from player to the training side – tell me how that happened and if any of the bonds you formed and experiences traveling had any influence.

JD: Absolutely. People always ask me what I was going to school for and what I wanted to do with my degree. I studied economics and Spanish, but I always would say, “Look, that’s what I’m studying to get the piece of paper. But at the end of the day, I’d love to work in hockey.” What that meant for me at the time is completely different than what I would have imagined where I am today.

When I was done overseas and came back, I threw out all my resumes and found myself in the eastern townships of Quebec, just outside of Sherbrooke. The hockey company Sherwood, which is well-known and has been around for a long time, brought me in for an interview. I would have accepted the job with whatever they offered me, but they offered me a nice position in sales. I spent nine years at Sherwood actually.

One of the people I met there was the marketing director. He moved on to a company called Hockey Shot, which was probably the only and leading hockey training tools company in the industry at the time. He brought me over specifically to build out the commercial synthetic ice division that was lacking. He said, “This is yours to run with. We’re strong in e-commerce and getting into big box retail, but we have this untouched niche market of people who want handholding to build their hockey training facilities.”

I went to Hockey Shot and spent six years there, mingling within that whole hockey culture and community. There was a lot of interest from skills coaches internationally in what Hockey Shot was doing with their products and how they were being used for on-ice and off-ice training. That’s what led me to where I am today.

Snipe Lights: Can you talk about that transition and what you’re doing today?

JD: I eventually started to feel like something more that was possible when it comes to tracking or development progress offered through advancing technology, and I was lucky enough to find a partner in Europe – that was the catalyst for me deciding to distinguish myself and partner with someone more ahead in that sphere.

I met my partner at Ozo Hockey, who had really neat shooting technology – an automatic passing conveyor system with software they built from A to Z, which measures shot speed, accuracy, and reaction time. They hadn’t penetrated the North American market yet, and as software engineers, they were the first to admit they weren’t the sales and marketing brains to make the transition to North America easily.

They also offer the Skating Treadmill, otherwise known as the Skate Mill – something that’s not new in the hockey training industry but has come a long way since the first versions. Knowing their background and how they were dialed in on the software side gave me confidence to say I could carry on with my background knowledge and lean on them for product and service for the North American side.

Hockey Gyms Inc. came onto the scene in November 2023, and we’re two years in now. I would say it’s been the best decision I’ve ever made.

Snipe Lights: It sounds like part of your goal has been accessibility – making elite-level, high- tech training accessible to more players and coaches. Do you get extra enjoyment out of that?

JD: Absolutely. There are so many people who, whether for lack of ice time or having a passion for offering new age training – hockey really has changed. More people are realizing that if not all their business, a portion of their existing business, whether that’s a gym, hockey store, or arena, can generate revenue with the type of products I’m offering.

Whether that’s synthetic ice for shooting lanes, shooting simulators to test sticks and foster competition, or the skate mill offering conditioning and stride correction at a fraction of the cost of ice time – people are understanding that hockey training doesn’t have to be done on real ice. These spaces are being brought to market and are revenue generating for people who otherwise haven’t thought of using their space like that before.

I’m pretty cognizant that nothing’s ever going to replace real ice time. But complementing what you do on the ice through these alternative and accessible training spaces and equipment allows people serious about their development to gain that edge and practice their craft in a space with less distractions. It’s very complementary to what they’re going to do when they get back on the ice.

Part 2 of our interview with JD Ross coming soon!

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