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By Ian Gustafson

Number decrease

‘We’re in dire need for referees’: P.A. Minor Hockey sees dip in amount of both officials and players

Oct 28, 2021 | 4:33 PM

There are many aspects of the game of hockey that make it run smoothly but none more so than referees.

However, that may be hard to do this year as Prince Albert Minor Hockey and Hockey Saskatchewan are reporting lower numbers of referees who police the game to allow players and teams to enjoy what the game has to offer.

Barry Schrader, referee-in-chief for Prince Albert Minor Hockey told paNOW after their first on ice session with the leagues referees they’re down 30 to 40 referees this season, however, there is one more session yet to come. At the moment, P.A. Minor Hockey will have 50 to 60 referees this season rather than the usual 100 to 110.

Hockey Saskatchewan had 3,300 officials in 2019 and 2,200 the following year. Although it’s still early in the season, they’re expecting 500 to 600 this year which will still be short of their total two years ago.

“I think a big part has been the COVID,” Schrader said. “It’s really played a big role in the lack of officials this year because with officials having to wear a mask, the senior guys, and just having to get your vaccination shot has caused a lot of confusion too.”

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The verbal abuse officials take from players and fans over the years, Schrader said has also played a role.

This in turn will hurt the on-ice product because he said we may see games only officiated by one referee or even having to cancel games. The last few weeks he’s been on the phone trying to invite people to come out, but he said there is still some hesitation, both in part of COVID and the abuse.

“A few I’ve talked to have just said they don’t need the abuse anymore,” he said. “They’re tired of being yelled at, screamed at and they may come back a senior official but right now they’re a junior official, I don’t think they’ll come back later probably in their career.”

When asked when referees may return, Schrader anticipates some will come back next year or when the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

“It’s a great chance to be an official right now. There’s lots of opportunities to move up,” Schrader said. “We’re really pushing our young guys to promote the game and better themselves for the higher hockey. We need you and the money is good, but with it comes responsibility…let’s hope we get you guys out there.”

Fewer players registering

Tyson Dallman, director of Hockey Operations for P.A. Minor Hockey, told paNOW there player numbers are down as well, more specifically in there under seven and under 18 age groups.

“We think that under-seven parents are probably a little apprehensive, you know with the way COVID was trending to start the season, to maybe register their young kids in hockey this year knowing that they’d only miss a year depending on which way COVID was going to go,” he explained.

He added for the under-18 players they think last year when teams were only allowed to practice due to COVID-19 restrictions, children may have found other interests and decided to not come back this year.

As of Oct. 13, the City of Prince Albert requires all members of the public 13 years or older when entering city facilities, including community rinks, to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. Dallman said when that news came out, they gave families the opportunity to decide if they wanted to continue playing, which happened after most of their registrations came in.

“We anticipated losing some families, the numbers were actually far less than we anticipated which was really good to see,” he said. “Really overall it didn’t end up hurting our numbers that way. The biggest decrease we saw in numbers was actually registrations before the City of Prince Albert restrictions had come in.”

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Ian.Gustafson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @IanGustafson12