By Drew Wilson

‘The Schlenker Show’ to hit the NHL

Aug 9, 2016 | 5:00 PM

Chris Schlenker has made it to the National Hockey League.

The former Raider defenceman rose quickly through the officiating ranks and is likely to get his first NHL assignment this season following a training camp in Buffalo that begins on Sept 10.

The 32-year-old was known for playing the game with an aggressive edge. The former captain of the Regina Pats and assistant captain during his season-and-a-half in Prince Albert who often caught the attention of referees, has been sending players to the penalty box for the past five years.

Schlenker was settling into a new career as a police officer when a senior hockey teammate suggested he become an official. It wasn’t long before the former enforcer as a player, starting enforcing as a referee.

Schlenker was surprised how quickly he progressed, reporting to the Western Hockey League’s development camp the next season.

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“I worked the WHL for three years and last year I had the extreme opportunity of working the American Hockey League,” Schlenker said. He added his first exposure to the pro game (one step below the NHL), was a positive one.  

“Working some pro hockey south of the border went pretty well for me and all of a sudden, five years later, I’m very, very fortunate to have been offered a contract with the National Hockey league,” he said.

Schlenker felt his experience and style as a player helped him adapt to life as an official and made him an attractive candidate for the pro evaluators at WHL games.

“They’ve always liked the fact I’m an ex-player and the fact I’m a police officer as well certainly helped. They (pro evaluators) kept coming around and I kept getting some opportunities and I think I had a lot of opportunities and a lot of luck on my side and a lot of people in my corner and far too many people to thank,” Schlenker said.

Schlenker who was named the WHL’s top official last season was also assigned to the championship game of the Memorial Cup in Red Deer.

He hosted “The Schlenker Show” where he interviewed teammates during the second intermission of games broadcasts on 900 CKBI and said he will never forget how the entire city embraced the team during the 2005 playoff run to game seven of the Eastern Conference final.

“That year-and-a-half was by far the best time of my life and something I think about non-stop and if it ever does sneak away from my mind, I’ll look down at the Prince Albert Raider tattoo on my leg and quickly remember why I got that tattoo and why I’ll forever be a Prince Albert Raider,” he said.

dwilson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @RaidersVoice