Watson set to ref 1,000th NHL game
Brad Watson has enjoyed every stop on the journey to his 1,000th game as a big-league referee.
The 52-year-old Reginan earned his stripes on the rinks of small-town Saskatchewan · officiating in Lang, Creelman, Milestone, Cupar and virtually anywhere else you can name on the snow-swept prairie · before working in the SJHL, WHL, IHL, AHL and, finally, the NHL.
(It¦s a slow road to get there,¦¦ Watson reflects, (but you make the best of every opportunity and enjoy the experience.¦¦
Watson will especially enjoy the events of Tuesday night, when he hits the 1,000-game mark. He is to be honoured before the Colorado Avalanche faces off against the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Denver-based Watson will share the experience with his wife (Amy), nine-year-old son (Reid) and seven-year-old daughter (Genabeth), along with his father (Bob, of Regina), brother (Craig, of Regina) and sisters (Karen, of Regina, and Leslie, of Calgary).
((NHL director of officiating) Stephen Walkom said, µIt¦s not really for you, the official. It¦s more for your family and to celebrate the sacrifices they made,¦ ¦¦ says Watson, whose mother, Jean, died in October of 2012.
(This is really cool. I wish my mom was around, because my parents have been the biggest supporters you can have.¦¦
His parents¦ home was near a rink at Dominion Park, which was a second home while he was growing up.
(There were no boards, so we used to just skate on an open-air rink and just play hockey, with snowbanks as the boards,¦¦ Watson says. (You don¦t really raise the puck, so that says a lot for my shot. In the springtime, I¦d go out there and look for pucks after the snow melted.¦¦
Like any Canadian youngster, Watson aspired to play in the NHL. He honed the skating skills that would eventually help him reach the big leagues, but there was an unavoidable snag when it came to playing hockey at the advanced levels: He was 5-foot-2 at age 17.
(I was just this little puny kid,¦¦ Watson says. (My hockey career never took off, obviously, but then I got into the officiating.¦¦
Watson was 16 when a friend, Larry Fahlman, suggested officiating as an option. By the time Watson was in his early 20s · having grown to 6-foot-2 by then · he had fully embraced life in the striped jersey.
(I was driving around small-town Saskatchewan, going to Broadview and Windthorst and Cupar and those places,¦¦ he says. (I¦d be working those games on a Friday night and driving back in crazy weather, but it was fun.¦¦
Well, most of the time.
(The safest I¦ve ever felt in my officiating career is in the NHL, because when we walk off the ice we get that tarp over us and we can just walk off,¦¦ Watson says with a chuckle.
(You¦d walk off the ice in the Al Ritchie (Memorial Centre) and there would be all these irate fans just barking at you · mothers and fathers · and you¦re like, µWhat did I get myself into?¦ ¦¦
Watson also had cause to ask that question one night in Lang, when he had contact-lens difficulties. The rink was equipped with a draw-bridge, leading from the ice to an upstairs dressing room, so the game was delayed while he attended to visual issues.
(I remember the rinks we used to work in,¦¦ Watson says. (I was in Creelman one night and I looked over and there was a cat on the ice in the corner.¦¦
Watson also reflects on the people who were in his corner · such as Dennis Pottage, Brad Howard, Rob Fehr, Richard Doerksen and Mick McGeough (the latter of whom also reached the 1,000-game mark as an NHL referee).
Dedication, combined with expert tutelage, helped Watson make the transition from linesman to referee, and from the amateur ranks to the pros.Along the way, he refereed in two Memorial Cups (1986 and 1992), the 1989 world junior hockey championship and the 1992 Spengler Cup.
He moved away from Regina in 1993, after he began officiating in the AHL. He refereed his first NHL game on March 7, 1996 and became a full-timer in The Show three years later, at age 37.
(I just stuck with it, and I didn¦t have any fast track,¦¦ he says. (I became a trainee in the NHL when I was 29. Most guys aren¦t even trying to do it then. I just kept on doing it and plugging along.¦¦
Look at him now.Watson has refereed in seven Stanley Cup finals · those of 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013 · and 140 NHL playoff games in all. In addition, he officiated in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.
Another assignment of note is slated for Saturday, when Watson will officiate an outdoor game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
(I love what I do. I really do,¦¦ he says. (I love going to the rink and I love the cities. Travel is probably the biggest challenge, with all the travel that¦s delayed and the hotel stuff. But if you break it down to getting to the city and doing the game, it¦s really cool.
(It¦s a challenge every night, because there¦s a lot of different styles. These players are so good now. Our game is starting to take off in the south, too, so our game is more high-profile and it¦s fun to be part of. You go out there and try to do your best · to do a fair job and have a good product.¦¦
That approach has served him well through 999 regular-season games. To commemorate the 1,000th, he will be part of the show before the Maple Leafs/Avalanche game. A presentation will be made and the feat will be recognized on the video screen.
The entire ceremony will be a testament to Watson¦s perseverance, as well as his longevity.
(I paid my dues,¦¦ says Watson, who is poised to become the 22nd NHL referee to reach 1,000 games. (I took my time. You learn a lot. When you don¦t take shortcuts, you kind of conquer every league you work.
(Whether that¦s working a Regina Boys Community League midget final or a Saskatchewan junior league final or the Western league final or the Canadian championships, you keep on going. You work in the International league and the American league and it gives you confidence that you can do it, and you learn along the way.
(It all just kind of pays off in the end.¦¦
From Leader Post Rob Vanstone.
