NHL officials train at Beaver Valley arena

Erika Engel photo

Kerry Fraser and Dennis La Rue are veteran
referees with the NHL, and part of the group
that came to the Beaver Valley Community
Centre this year for a week long training camp.

The NHL visited the Town of the Blue Mountains on official business this week.

For the second year in a row, the NHL Official Training camp for referees and linesmen was held at the Beaver Valley Community Centre.

Johanna Kytola, manager of officiating with the NHL, said there were 73 officials at this year's camp, which, until last year, was typically held in Fort Erie or Toronto.

NHL referees and linesmen from all over North America met in Toronto, then Thornbury, where they took turns playing and officiating full hockey games with NHL rules and participating in off-ice seminars.

"We want them to play the sport they are officiating, and have fun," said Kytola.

She said the NHL decided to host the training camp in Thornbury last year, after Senior Manager Terry Gregson, a Blue Mountains resident, scoped out the Beaver Valley Arena and thought it would make a good facility.

Kytola said she thought the Town of the Blue Mountains staff has been "phenomenal" and the officials loved having the camp in the area last year, so they decided to come back.

The group stayed at the Westin Trillium House while they trained.

Shawn Everitt, recreation director for the Town of the Blue Mountains, helped coordinate surprise events for the officials. Last year, they went dragon boat racing, and this year they went paintballing. He said the NHL's return visit to the area is a boost for the town and the arena.

"It shows that this is a good place for high-level professionals to go and train," said Everitt.

"It's a nice feather in our cap," he added.

The Refs
Dennis La Rue of Spokane, Washington has been an NHL referee for 20 years. He played hockey when he was young, and started refereeing minor hockey to work his way up to the NHL. He likes training in Beaver Valley because it makes the training camp more retreat-like.

"It's a chance to get things started off in a little less hectic setting," he said.

Kerry Fraser, who is originally from Sarnia, has worked for the NHL for over 30 years. He lived in Collingwood when he was 16 to play for the Blues. He says training in Thornbury is like coming home for him.

He remembers everyone in the area being very hospitable and welcoming the "imports" playing for the Blues. Now that he's back in the area for official training in Thornbury, he says the facilities are great, but it's the people that stand out.

"People make a place, the place doesn't make the people," he said.

Fraser and La Rue both love their jobs in the NHL.

Fraser said most of the officials never aspired to be referees or linesmen, but their playing careers didn't work out as planned. They still consider it a "tremendous honour" to be NHL officials.

"We're the best in the world," said Fraser. "We get to see what you watch on TV. We're rubbing shoulders with the best players in the world."

"They let you in the back door, they give you the best seats in the house, and every two weeks they send you money," said La Rue.

Fraser is part of a team headed to Europe at the start of this year's season to officiate a game in Prague - a first-class trip for he and his wife. It's one of the many perks for an NHL official.

The summer vacations aren't bad, either.

Both agreed the hardest part of the job was the constant travel and weekend work, but conceded that the pros far outweighed the minors - uh - the cons.