History Making Professional Linesman

 

Growing up in Nobleton, I moved to Schomberg, Ontario at the age of 13.  That same year, I began high school at KCSS.  At the current time, I live in Baden, Ontario, with my girlfriend Jennifer, and her children, Nolan and Tatjana.

My initial high school experience was strongly enhanced by participation in sports.  In my first year I played on the junior football team, as well as the hockey team, and though in grade nine, I was given the opportunity to go to Lake Placid, N.Y. with the Senior Hockey team.  This began a relationship with “the game” which has gratified my life.

In grade ten I ceased all varsity sports in favour of playing in the OHA (Ontario Hockey Association), for the Richmond Hill Dynes Junior B hockey team.  I spent five years in the Junior Hockey Leagues, finishing with the Barrie Colts, the year the Colts won the OHA Sutherland Cup. That same year I graduated from KCSS, and in retrospect, I have to say those years were good ones. I had great teachers, many of whom became mentors who instilled me with a strong work ethic, fostered leadership, and encouraged me to be an invested team player.

Upon graduation I was recruited by the University of Guelph, where I played varsity hockey.  While on this team, we played in three National Championships, winning one in 1996-97.  In addition, the Guelph Gryphons won two OUA (Ontario University Association) Queen’s Cups. I graduated from Guelph with a diploma in Horticulture, which later led to a career with the City of Kitchener, where I worked full time as an arborist for over twenty years.

Over my love affair with hockey, I have played minor pro hockey in the Central Hockey League out of Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Columbus, Georgia. After a year in Georgia, I had to retire from active play due to concussions. It was as this door began to close that I was approached by the OHA to become an official, and a new phase of my hockey career began. I spent one year officiating Junior A hockey and won the Hugh MacMillan Award for most promising official. I was then hired by the Ontario Hockey League in 1999 and have remained in its employ as a linesman for twenty-two seasons.

While on the ice for the OHL I have officiated at four Memorial Cups, two Memorial Cup finals, two All Star games, one CHL (Canadian Hockey League) prospect game, and 12 OHL finals.  In 2018 I was awarded the Ken Bodendistel Officiating Character Award, an honour I found especially humbling as Ken Bodendistel was one of my esteemed mentors.

In 2003 I was hired by the American Hockey League, where I have officiated for the last eighteen seasons, overseeing one Calder Cup. In 2016 – 17 I was recognized with the Mike Condon Memorial Award for outstanding contribution to the AHL as an On-Ice Official. Currently I work as a supervisor of officials for the East Coast Hockey League, as well as a mentor for new linesmen in the OHL. This role provides me with not only the opportunity to imbue up-and-coming officials with my extensive experience and knowledge, but also adds significant enjoyment through coaching young people.

My love of the game has kept me in the game. I love officiating in most prominent of junior leagues in the world, where my officiating has guided exceptional young hockey players in how to apply their skills for the chance of a place in professional, or semi-pro hockey. Now at the age of 50, there are too few words sufficient to express my love of the game. Suffice it to say, it remains my greatest honour and privilege to be an active mentor to officials in my area who vie for NHL officiating status.

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