Joey Payeur
Matt Spence has spent the last two seasons seeing hockey from different perspectives.
And he’s become very good at both playing the puck and policing the play.
The 13-year-old Fort Frances resident was informed he’s this year’s recipient of the Hockey Canada Officials Program Award/Hockey Northwestern Ontario “Most Improved Official” award.
He will be presented it at the HNO’s annual awards luncheon May 13 in Thunder Bay.
“It was pretty surprising considering how many young officials there are in Northwestern Ontario,” said Spence, who was one of the top forwards on the Fort Frances Bantam ‘AA’ Canadians this past season.
The Grade 8 student at Robert Moore School is in his second year of wearing the stripes.
“I love the game of hockey, and I thought officiating would be kind of fun and a good first job for me,” Spence explained.
The fun can go out of the job quickly when dealing with irate players, coaches, and fans.
But Spence hasn’t let any of that get to him so far.
“It hasn’t been so bad–I might get a coach who does not agree with an offside or penalty call I made,” he recalled.
“It’s good to have the older officials out there with me because if they see that happening to me, they’ll come over and calm the person down and handle it.”
Working with more experienced officials also has helped accelerate Spence’s development.
“I like to have someone to watch out there who, if they see you and need you to move back a bit, they’ll give you a quick head fake so you know to move,” he noted.
“I think I’ve improved the most from the first year to the second year positioning-wise, and knowing where the puck’s going to be before it gets there because of them,” he added.
Spence also has seen a ripple effect when it comes to playing the game himself.
“It helps me appreciate big-time as a player what the officials have to go through,” he remarked.
“Now if I’ve got a teammate freaking out about a call, I make sure to tell him to calm down and understand that the officials are going to see the game differently than the players.”
Spence wants his officiating skills to progress to the point where he one day can be called upon for the highest levels of hockey played in town.
“I think it would be pretty cool to get up to where I can officiate games at the high school or [Fort Frances] Lakers’ level,” he enthused.
“We’ll see what happens after that.”
