Zechariah Thomas grew up playing hockey in Oshawa, Ontario, a city where the sport is a major part of the culture. After years on the ice, he knew how expensive the game could be. One of the biggest costs came from broken hockey sticks. According to Thomas, players often break 12 to 15 sticks in a single season, and each replacement can cost around $400 to $500.

For many families, those prices are difficult to keep up with. On top of equipment costs, hockey team fees can range from $10,000 to $20,000 per year, not including travel. Thomas believed the high price of playing was making hockey less accessible, so he decided to create a solution.

In 2022, when he was just 19, Thomas launched Swift Hockey. The company sells high-quality carbon-fiber hockey sticks for about $200, making them much more affordable than many traditional options.

Thomas started the company without outside funding. During the pandemic, he used his free time to learn about ecommerce, dropshipping and online business. After selling one of his earlier ecommerce ventures, he used that money to fund Swift Hockey.

The company also appeared on Canada’s Dragon’s Den in 2023, only six months after launching. Thomas received three offers and accepted one, but the deal eventually fell through. Since then, Swift Hockey has continued to grow as a self-funded business.

Instead of focusing first on retail stores, Thomas built Swift Hockey as an online-first brand. This was different from many companies in the hockey equipment space. While selling online can be challenging because players often need replacement sticks quickly, the direct-to-consumer model helped Swift Hockey keep prices lower while still maintaining strong margins.

For its first two years, the company grew mostly through organic marketing and did not spend money on advertising. That strategy helped the brand gain traction and build a loyal customer base.

Now, Swift Hockey is expected to bring in $7 million in annual revenue in 2026 and has around 20 employees. Thomas plans to continue growing online while slowly expanding into physical retail. The company has already formed partnerships with Play It Again Sports and Source for Sports.

Swift Hockey is also looking beyond hockey sticks. After Thomas shared the company’s mission on LinkedIn, the post went viral. Many people encouraged him to bring the same affordable approach to other sports, such as baseball and pickleball.

After researching the issue, Thomas found that rising equipment costs affect many sports, not just hockey. A survey from Good Sports found that many parents feel stressed by the cost of sports equipment, and many worry they may not be able to afford to enroll their children in sports in the future.

For Thomas, expanding into other sports fits the company’s larger mission. He says sports played an important role in his life, helping his mental health and keeping him out of trouble. Now, he wants more young people to have that same opportunity.

Swift Hockey also supports youth players through scholarships and financial aid programs. These programs help cover costs like gear, training and participation fees for players in underserved communities.

Thomas says being a young entrepreneur has been a major advantage, especially when it comes to understanding organic marketing and social media. At the same time, he admits there are challenges, including access to larger funding opportunities. While he hopes to keep bootstrapping the company, he believes additional funding could help Swift Hockey move faster toward its goal of making hockey more affordable.

His advice to other young entrepreneurs is to find a problem they truly care about and take action. For Thomas, passion is what helps him handle the difficult parts of building a business.