Photos by Candice Ward/CHL

By Sydney Chisholm

Memorial cup

Memorial Cup officials under just as much pressure as the players

May 30, 2023 | 4:46 PM

KAMLOOPS – By most fans, they are despised even more than the opposing team. But as much as the crowd may think the referees are against their team, the on-ice officials are striving for perfection in a league of their own.

“They want to put the best guys on the ice for every game and the guys that are the most capable of doing the best job for that specific game,” Nathan Van Oosten, linesman for the Memorial Cup, told CFJC News.

Much like the major junior players fighting for the Memorial Cup, the men in stripes have been working all season for their shot at being a part of the CHL Championship.

Of four referees and five linesmen, only a total of four will earn a place on the ice for the semi-finals and finals.

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“In our locker room and in the officials’ room we are all competitors,” linesman Brian Birkhoff explained. “We all have a large amount of respect for each other but we also want to be the best. Working the semi-final and final means someone upstairs thinks you’re worthy of doing those games.”

Even though they have made it to Kamloops this year, every game their performance is under scrutiny by fans and evaluated by the league.

“Everything is amplified — all of your mistakes, all of your successes are under a microscope,” Birkhoff said. “We, as a crew here and the ones back home, strive to be here. We were the ones fortunate enough to be here this year.”

The officials making it to the semi-finals and finals will be those with the highest performance during the week.

While the tensions are high officiating at this level, the league’s top linesmen say competition and love for the game outway the cons.

“Every time I jump on the ice, I have the chance to see players who have great abilities just enjoy the game, I mean, it’s the best tickets at the rink,” Linesman Maxime Desjardins said. “We’re on the ice with the players, we’ve got first-class tickets to just enjoy a great show and make sure the game goes well, too.”

In smaller arenas, chants of anger toward officials might be heard on the ice, but the packed Memorial Cup crowd sounds more like a buzz, according to Desjardins.

Even so, high emotions are part of the game and being screamed at by fans, players or coaches comes with the territory.

“Over 17 years, I’ve come to embrace it a little and maybe it doesn’t bother me as much as it used to,” Van Oosten said. “It’s part of the game and that fan emotion helps the players and creates a pretty cool atmosphere. You know, I have no problem with it. I enjoy it, for the most part.”