The puck stops here: Making memories at Esso Minor Hockey Week

The puck stops here: Making memories at Esso Minor Hockey Week

For a kid who wants to stop everything, 11-year-old Luc Bishop sure is a go-getter. Most days, he’s up at 5 a.m. – without complaint – to get some extra practice time as a minor hockey goalie.

But today, he isn’t just stopping pucks. He is remembering.

It has been two years since he backstopped his team – the U11 Springbank Rockies – to a championship at Esso Minor Hockey Week, one of the largest minor hockey tournaments in the world.

For Luc, that experience is a memory he will carry forever.

“We had two shootout victories that year on our way to win the banner – and that’s something I’ll never forget,” he says.

Making those game-winning saves, throwing his arms in the air, and then watching teammates rush toward him to celebrate their undefeated run in 2023 are among the enduring moments for Luc as he reminisces about the annual Esso tournament.

One of the world’s biggest hockey tournaments

For minor hockey players in Calgary, there is nothing bigger than Esso Minor Hockey Week. This year, the tournament takes place January 10 - 18. More than 650 teams, 13,000 players, 3,400 coaches, and 6,000 volunteers will participate.

Luc’s mom Laura Bishop, a second-generation employee of Imperial and its Esso brand, smiles when she thinks about her son’s love of hockey and her company’s support of this Hockey Calgary event for the past 45 years.

“I have so much pride wearing my Esso jersey in the rinks during Esso Minor Hockey Week,” she says. “As an employee, I see up close the difference our partnerships make to grassroots programming. And as a hockey parent, I see how this support translates to memories that last a lifetime.”

Part of our history

Imperial, through its Esso brand, has been supporting hockey in Canada for nearly 90 years. The company sponsored the first national radio broadcast of an NHL game in 1936, and the now iconic Hockey Night in Canada Three Stars were first awarded in the 1936-37 NHL season to advertise the company’s Three Star brand of gasoline. The Imperial logo continues to have three stars today.

Today, Esso is the official fuel of the NHL, all seven Canadian NHL teams, Hockey Canada and the PWHL, and the company supports minor hockey from coast to coast, including through its Esso Medals and Certificates of Achievement. We’re proud to support hockey in Canada from pond to podium!