Brandon

MOST PROMISING – Ben Croker

Ben came to Brandon to attend University from Edmonton, AB. He was an official while growing up in Alberta has continued with it in Manitoba. He has certainly shown a lot of promise and potential since his move and would like to one day officiate at the Junior level.

MOST IMPROVED – David Schroeder

David started officiating in his home town of Elm Creek, and after taking a few years off and relocating to Brandon for University, he began officiating again. He has improved immensely as both a linesman and referee and plans on taking his officiating career as far as he can.

MOST DESERVING – Ernest Elder

Ernest is a Level III official originally from Oak Lake. He now officiates Minor and Senior hockey out of Brandon. He is an active member of the Development Committee and assigns officials from Novice to Peewee. Ernest also completes supervisions and spends time mentoring young officials.

Central Plains

MOST PROMISING – Matthew Dayholos

Matthew has been officiating for two years in Gladstone. He has a good feel for the game and really enjoys being out on the ice. Near the end of the season he was able to officiate some Bantam games. He has done a great job and with some hard work will become and excellent official.

MOST IMPROVED – Janelle Poschenriedrer

Janelle started officiating at Novice and Atom two years ago. She enjoys the game and is willing to learn. This year she started lining Female Midget AA games and improved enough to be selected for the Winter Games where she did a wonderful job.

MOST DESERVING – Chad Green

Chad has been officiating for the last 19 years. He started out doing minor hockey in Portage and has advanced to officiating AAA Midget and Junior. He was the Referee in Chief for Central Plains for 8 years and now works with young officials with in the region.

Eastman

MOST PROMISING – Damien Lemoine

Damien began officiating at the age of 14 and other than a one year absence to play High School hockey, he has been doing so ever since. As a Junior hockey player he has somehow found time to both play and officiate. He has shown great promise and was selected to officiate at this year’s Director’s Cup.

MOST IMPROVED – Logan Cote

Logan is a Level II official from Beausejour. He began officiating at the age of 13 and has steadily improved since then. He has played and coached but now concentrates on his officiating. His hard work and dedication has allowed him the opportunity to officiate at higher levels.

MOST DESERVING – Glenn Spurr

Glenn celebrates his 20th year as Hockey Manitoba official this season. He works all levels of Minor hockey within the Eastman region as well as Senior and Junior hockey. He was been the Referee Assigner for Oakbank for 3 years (1994 – 1997) and for the past 4 years has been the Referee in Chief for the Peewee League in Eastman.

Interlake

MOST PROMISING – Brett Thiessen

Brett has been officiating for three years and has moved from a Level I to a Level III in that short time frame. He has refereed Novice – Bantam and lined AAA Bantam and Midget, Senior and Female hockey. For showing such great improvement he was selected to represent Interlake at the Director’s Cup.

MOST IMPROVED – Brock McMahon

Brock has officiated all levels of hockey in the Teulon area. He has been a referee for Novice – Bantam and worked as headman at the Bantam level. Even though he plays both midget and Junior hockey he continues to find time to take any officiating opportunities available to him.

MOST DESERVING – Ken Stadnek

Ken is currently the Referee in Chief for Arborg Minor. He spends his time assigning officials in Arborg, finding referees for Riverton, officiating as needed throughout the Interlake and supervising younger officials. Ken has officiated at all levels of Minor hockey as well as lined Junior B, AAA Midget and Senior.

Norman

MOST PROMISING – Mason Antoniuk

Mason is a 14 year old Level I official from the Norman Region. He is a quick learner making him very easy to teach. Mason shows great potential in this early stage of his officiating career.

MOST IMPROVED – Brandon Eikel

Brandon is a Level I official from Flin Flon. He has improved immensely in the way he handles players and coaches. He always calls a good game and shows potential to move to the next level and beyond.

MOST DESERVING – Brett Florence

Brett has been an official for many years. As a Level IV he officiates all level of hockey in the Norman Region. He is an active instructor and also helps mentor officials throughout the region.

Parkland

MOST PROMISING – Colin Baldwin

Colin just completed his first season as a Level III official. He officiates minor hockey in Swan River hoping to one day line for the MJHL. He is always willing to learn and as a result was selected to attend the Director’s Cup this season.

MOST IMPROVED – Riley Helgeson

This is Riley’s second season as an official and he has come a long way from last year. He is also a hockey player so he understands the game very well. He has used the advice that he has received from older officials to improve any way he can.

MOST DESERVING – Greg Loucks

Greg is a Level II official and the type of person who would never turn down a game no matter what level. His son is also an official and quite often they will officiate together as a father-son team. Greg is always willing to learn more and uses advice he receives to improve his game.

Pembina Valley

MOST PROMISING – Corey Zacharias

Corey is a young go-getter who works all categories of hockey in the Pembina Valley Region. Corey is the type of official that, at 13 years old, had the rulebook beside his bed, reading it until it was lights out. That is dedication in a young official. The region looks forward to Corey’s leadership in the next generation of officials.

MOST IMPROVED – Tara Funke

Tara is not just a fun individual to talk to but is also a very talented official. She left hockey for a short period of time but came back a few years ago and the region is extremely glad she did. She has improved over her years as an official and Pembina Valley is very proud of her.

MOST DESERVING – Gary Smart

Gary is an official who helps out where ever it is needed, whether it be an Atom game or AAA Midget. Gary is always available and gives 100%. The town of Miami and the Pembina Valley region are lucky to have a great person and very dedicated hockey official in the area.

Westman South

MOST PROMISING – Robin Brister

Robin is a Level III and although he is from Carberry, he has worked all over the Westman South region. He handles the game with confidence and is a quick thinker and skater. He corresponds well with other the officials he works with as well as the coaches. Robin gives his best effort every time he officiates.

MOST IMPROVED – Andrew Enns

In Andrew’s first season as an official he has shown great improvement. He started out at the Initiation level and as his confidence grew he was soon officiating Atom games. Learning the game from a different point of view was difficult but by the end of the season he was able to keep up with all games he was assigned. Andrew is patient with the young children and looks forward to certifying again next season.

MOST DESERVING – Lars Baron

Lars was a very valuable asset to Carberry Minor Hockey this season, sometimes officiating 6 or more games in a weekend. Not only is he committed and dependable, but also a great mentor to the younger officials. He shows confidence on the ice and is always willing to contemplate difficult calls to ensure the correct call is made. His devotion and hard work has made him very deserving of this award.

Winnipeg

MOST PROMISING – Mike Gallagher

Mike has been officiating for the past three years and has progressed to a Level III in that time frame. He has gone from officiating the 12 and under program to head manning Bantam AA and lining Bantam AAA. Mike is sure to be a valuable asset to the officiating program in the future.

MOST IMPROVED – Rory McMorris

Rory has shown great improvement through the 47 games he officiated this season. He has had the opportunity to line at the Bantam AAA level and head man Minor Bantam AA and Peewee AA. Rory also spends time mentoring younger officials.

MOST DESERVING – Ted Szypowski

Ted has held many positions within the APHA organization; he is a Past President and the current Vice-President of Facilities, Registrar and Treasurer of St. James Minor. He time keeps for APHA and assigns officials for APHA and St. James. Ted is approaching his 20th season volunteering for the hockey community of Winnipeg.

Yellowhead

MOST PROMISING – Megan Smith

Megan has been officiating for the past six seasons and has improved steadily every year. She has been the head official for Female Midget games as well as Female Bantam and Male Peewee. Megan has also lined at the High School and Male Midget level. Her great skating ability and a good understanding of the game gives her the potential to be a t great official at any level.

MOST IMPROVED – Kyle McDonald

Kyle just completed his second year as an official for Neepawa Minor Hockey. Over that time he has quickly developed the skills needed to be a great official such as communication, positioning and teamwork. He shows A great knowledge of the game and the rules working as either a linesman or referee. He has officiated everything up to the Peewee level demonstrating high moral principles, enthusiasm and responsibility. He is respected by players, coaches and his fellow officials and is always willing to learn from his mistakes to make himself a better official.

MOST DESERVING – Matt Rapsky

Matt has been officiating for the past three seasons and is willing to take any game at any level. He is one of the referees in Minnedosa that is always available and truly loves being on the ice. He has officiated at all levels from Initiation to AAA Midget. As a referee he is always considerate, a team player and respected by coaches and players. Matt was able to officiate over 60 games in the area this season and was willing to do more.

Hockey Canada Officials Awards

MOST IMPROVED – Sabrina Lauzon

Sabrina followed in her father`s footsteps and first certified as an official in 2000. She began her career in the Pembina Valley Region and then in Winnipeg. Sabrina was chosen to represent our branch at a Hockey Canada Regional Female Officiating camp in July 2005. She officiates at all levels of hockey from minor male and female to Female Midget AA, Junior Female and CIS. She has followed a rigid training and conditioning program, improved her skating and worked tirelessly to improve her skills. She was selected as an official for an Olympic Pre-Comp game between Switzerland and the MB Bisons. She is also a mentor and instructor for the officiating program. Through her hard work and dedication Sabrina has earned the Hockey Canada award naming her Hockey Manitoba`s Most Improved Official.

MOST PROMISING – Brett Montsion

Brett started his officiating career when he was 14 years old as a Level I official in St. James. He wanted to earn some spending money and be further involved in the game that he loved as a player and now as an official. Brett’s strong skating skills, his knowledge and feel for the game bode him well. Brett quickly advanced to a Level III and then on to a Level IV and V. Brett gave up playing junior hockey to concentrate on furthering his officiating career. In the last two years he has officiated Junior hockey within our branch as well as the WHL where earned the right to work games in the league semi-finals. Brett also finds time to be a mentor and instructor within our officiating program as well as attend University in post graduate studies. Brett has a great future in officiating hockey and is worthy of the Hockey Canada “Most Promising Official” award in Hockey Manitoba.

MOST DESERVING – Brad Richardson

Brad was a minor hockey coach for four seasons before beginning his career as an official in 1997-1998. Two years into officiating, he was recruited as the Referee in Chief of Springfield, a position he has held for nine years. Brad`s outgoing personality and his penchant for putting ideas in action must have convinced Eastman that they had a “catch”, for in the fall of 2001 Brad was named Referee in Chief for Eastman as well as Regional Referee Coordinator – a position he holds to this day. Sadly, Brad’s on-ice career ended in 2008 due to a knee injury. His tireless effort and work to develop and promote young officials in his Region has made Eastman a breeding ground for many elite officials within the Hockey Manitoba program. Brad demand’s professionalism from his officials at all levels and his dedication to the program is worthy of the recognition bestowed on him today – Hockey Canada’s “Most Deserving Official” for Hockey Manitoba.