Carter Loewen, Carson McDonald selected to officiate Junior Showcase

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This article was published 30/01/2024 (598 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Carter Loewen likes to blame Carson McDonald for convincing him to take up hockey officiating at age 13 in the Brandon minor hockey system.

“Ironically, it was Carson who convinced me to try officiating with a few others just for fun, and we’re the only two who stuck it out,” he recalled. “I did take two years off when I was playing with the Brandon U15 AAA team, but came back once I was done playing.”

Now in his seventh season wearing his black and white striped jersey, the six-foot-four referee no longer has time for minor hockey games because he’s quite busy doing senior hockey, plus he regularly sees action in the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League and was hired for his second season in the Manitoba Junior A Hockey League. Plus, on occasion he will receive referee assignments in the Westman High School Hockey League.

“There’s no time for me doing minor hockey games now, with what I have on my weekly schedule,” he explained, adding he’s also busy in his fourth year at Brandon University finishing off his bio-medical science degree.

The 21-year-old BU student is interested in radiology, but his long-term goal is to study family medicine at the University of Manitoba. And continue to officiate.

His work in the MJHL has not gone unnoticed by Patrick Gagnon, the league’s director of officiating. Along with McDonald, the two young hockey officials were selected to be on-ice officials — 12 referees, 12 linesmen — for the MJHL-SJHL Showcase being held in Winnipeg today and on Wednesday.

“These officials were selected for the same reason the players have been selected,” said Gagnon. “This is a great opportunity for our officials currently working through the ranks in their officiating careers. They will have the chance to showcase themselves while working a game with many top players at the Junior A level.

“They work hard throughout the season and are committed to their craft so I also see this as a feather in their caps to be able to work these games. These are always great experiences and I’m sure they will all enjoy working these games.”

Loewen is excited about the assignment. He’s strictly a linesman when he’s working MJHL, U18 AAA and senior games, while McDonald strictly wears the bands in the four-man systems used in those leagues. He has been assigned the last game of the two-day tournament featuring U18 and U20 teams at Seven Oaks Sportsplex.

This tournament has been held annually since 2018 and provides high performance exposure in front of NHL, WHL, NCAA and U Sports scouts. The format features three teams from each league made up of 20 registered players per team — 60 players total per league.

Loewen is working the lines of a U18 game, while McDonald is working the first U20 game today.

Identified a few years ago while working his way up in the Brandon hockey system from U9 to U15 to attend Performance of Excellence camps in Winnipeg, Loewen is taking what he learned there to improve his officiating skills.

Already a strong skater, his attention is focused on honing game management skills, rule knowledge plus perfecting technical procedures he did not use in minor hockey — hybrid icing and faceoff presentation.

“As you move up, you learn how to deal with coaches and players differently,” he said. “With Rule 11 now, we’re changing the culture as a whole, so that if officials are comfortable on the ice there will be a vast improvement in officiating.”

Rule 11 comes under Hockey Canada’s maltreatment directive which is new for the 2023-24 season. Maltreatment includes volitional acts which result in harm or the potential for physical or psychological harm.

This is a serious issue which undermines the health, well-being performance and security of all associated with hockey and is incompatible with the core values which lie at the heart of Canadian sport.

Team officials are responsible for their conduct and that of their players. They must endeavour to prevent disorderly conduct before, during or after the game, on and off the ice and any place in the arena.

The referee may assess penalties to any team officials failing to do so, and this will be reported in a game incident report.

Maltreatment under rule 11 includes unsportsmanlike conduct, abusive behaviour, spitting, discrimination and physical harrassment of officials.

Looking back on how coaches treated young officials like him, Loewen says it’s a lot different doing higher level hockey, although on odd occasions some coaches will react negatively to an official’s call, whether a penalty or a play at the blue-line.

“When I’m out there, I take pride in my puck dropping and helping the referees by preventing penalties at goalmouth scrums. This is good calibre hockey we’re doing, so I communicate a lot with the players, something a little different when you were dealing with little kids on the ice.”

Loewen acknowledged he’s not observing screaming matches with coaches at upper level hockey compared to doing a U13 house league game. There’s a reciprocal respect between the coaching staffs and officiating crews, with communication a key tool to deflate situations which might lead to game misconducts for players or seeing coaches kicked out.

While his skating is a strong attribute for a linesman, Loewen said he’s continually working on his faceoff procedure, a point of emphasis for all officials directed by Gagnon.

“Everyone works on their rule knowledge, but there’s more to your game as a linesman … for me, it’s work ethic and setting a good standard and consistency in what I do.”

Which includes “puck presentation.”

Loewen no longer stands erect when it comes to a puck drop you’ll see in a U15 game. Instead, officials now crouch and are dropping the presented puck over the dot from about 18 inches, not three feet.

“We have to set a good standard for the players when it comes to our puck drop,” he said. “This helps with faceoff fairness. And I’m not hit by sticks because I’m down there with the players because they are aware of you being there, so they are focused on the puck, and rarely hit us with that stick.”

While communication with players is part of a referee’s repertoire, it’s equally important for the linesman, according to Loewen.

“We have to be able to communicate with players, more to decompress situations on the ice. It’s good to maintain a rapport with players, letting them know the referee is not out there to get them.”

While the linesman work together as one team handling scrums, icings, offsides and countless face-offs, and referees handle penalty calls and application of the rules, Loewen notices he does plenty of skating working the blue-lines.

“It’s a good thing I like to skate because I skate a lot in the games I do,” he said.

Once his hockey season is done, Loewen will turn his attention to his other passion — baseball. He could be on the bench again as Neelin’s high school baseball coach, and he’s looking forward to another senior season in Brandon playing for the Cubs.

• • •

Playing minor hockey up to U13, Carson McDonald looked to officiating to have fun, and earn a few dollars.

Now he’s in his third season as a MJHL referee, plus he works the Tiger Hills Senior Hockey League and can be found up the middle doing Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League tilts. And on occasion if he has a free night in Brandon, will be assigned a game in the WHSHL.

“I didn’t like playing hockey when I got to peewee, it felt like a job, was not fun, so I decided I would try officiating instead,” he recalled. “There was a great support system working with senior officials like Ernest Elder when I started out, and I was given opportunities which kept me interested in (officiating).”

McDonald initially worked the lines when he was signed to work MJHL games three years ago, but then transitioned to being the guy with the red bands.

“I did lines the first two years in the MJ, but now I’m working the middle (in four-man system) because I did not have the size (five-foot-11) for lines. I’ve enjoyed the change, and the challenges that come with being one of the refs.

“There’s more attention on you as you move up to higher levels of hockey, but we rely on our linesmen because we’re a team, too.”

What made Gagnon noticed him for the MJHL/SJHL Showcase tournament assignment, joining his fellow BU officials in Winnipeg?

“My strength is my skating, plus I have a calm demeanour, so I’m not rattled in games where there’s a higher intensity. I keep a level head, use my knowledge of the rule book, and talk out any situations where players or coaches might be upset with a call.”

Studying chemistry at BU, McDonald has plenty of years ahead to continue officiating at the higher levels. Like Loewen, he too works the west side of the MJHL, covering games from Virden to Slave Lake, to Killarney and Dauphin.

McDonald is continually honing his craft as a referee, especially away from the rink. All officials have access to game film where they can assess the calls they made, or might have missed.

“We have access to games on video, so I like to look at it to help with my own improvement. I look at my game management and my penalty calls. I learn from calls I might have missed, to be in a better position the next game,” he said.

He will return to BU in the fall to work on his masters degree, with a focus on research in the health realm.

Now 21, does he have advice for young officials now doing U11 and U13 games at Flynn and Enns Arenas?

Besides working as many games as assigned, he advised to ask questions like he did, and listen to advice when being supervised by senior officials. Learn the rules is important also, and now those rules are available from an app a young official can add to their iPhone.

“Moving up to do higher level hockey is something young officials should strive for … it’s a lot of fun,” he said. “But you need to know the rules, too, as part of being a hockey official.”

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