Play On! is a story of a small-town hockey fan who was passionate about the game and wanted to make a positive difference for the sport across this great nation. The concept was formed after he graduated from one of Canada’s most prestigious business schools and couldn’t find a job. Now, 10 years later, that same business school teaches the story of Play On! to all entrepreneurial students, reinforcing a message that anyone can fulfill their dreams if they just never quit.

The first Play On! tournament was held in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2003 and featured one hundred and twenty-one teams.

Play On! was expanded geographically the following summer and operated nationally across Canada in 2004 and 2005. The program ran in partnership with the NHL and TSN in those years, respectively.

In 2006, and due to organizational complications associated with event planning during the NHL lockout, the program did not operate. The NHL has chosen not to support this program in Canada ever since.

However, in response to the literally thousands of e-mails received from Canadians from coast to coast to coast, the program came back to life. In the fall of 2007, CBC Hockey Night in Canada's recognized the importance of the program to the nation and became title sponsor of the national program. During the summer of 2008, the program grew to eight Canadian cities, involving over 80,000 participants and spectators.

Building on that success, the event series has continued to expand. Twelve major events were held in 2009, fifteen tournaments in 2010, and seventeen tournaments in 2011 with each event even larger and more exciting than those held in the year previous. Over 790,000 Canadians have now participated in a Play On! event.

Hockey Night in Canada's Play On! is now the largest participatory sporting festival in Canada of any kind. By the end of 2012, over 1 Million Canadians will have participated in a Play On! event.