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Page 16 THE HERALD Wednesday July 1989 Lewis fine choice In the opinion of this humble scribe the NHL powersthatbe made a fine choice in selecting Georgetowns Bryan Lewis as their new Director of Officiating Lewis succeeds the much- respected and highly thoughtof member of both Georgetown in particular and hockey com munities in general John McCauley who died in June of complications following surgery Lewis professional hockey ac complishments speak volumes his knowledge of the game He is entering his 22nd year of associa tion with the NHL He began his professional of ficiating career in 1967 as a referee in the Central Western and American hockey leagues He worked his first game as an NHL referee in the season When he hung up the blades following the season he had worked in 1031 games refereed in four Stanley Cup Finals series handled the 1981 AllStar game in Los Angeles and officiated in the Canada Cup Following his retirement Lewis joined the NHL Supervisory staff for the 198687 season as Coor dinator of Development and his responsibilities included the recruitment and development of minor league officials These accomplishments being noted it is also fairly accurate to point out that very little is known of Bryan Lewis the person I first became acquainted with As I See It Coin Gibson Sportt Editor Bryan Lewis during my first go- round as Herald Sports Editor in the mid1970s I was obviously aware of his NHL connections but our relationship dealt mainly with his involvement in the local sports scene and at that time in par ticular his role as Convenor of the Georgetown Industrial Mens Fastball League He made this neophyte sports writers entry into the local sports scene all the more easier with his cooperation availability and pa tience in answering what I am cer tain must have been extremely naive if not actually stupid ques tions I also got to know a little about Bryan Lewis the person He has a wry puton sense of humor and unless one is aware of this he can be intimidating at times He also provided this tyro writer with what I still consider one of the greatest thrills of my life He casually sauntered into the Herald offices one morning and in an offhand manner asked if I would be interested in tagging along on one of his weekend refereeing jaunts After I had carefully removed the typewriter from my foot and the pencil from my ear where it had become mysteriously imbedd ed I equally offhandedly said Sure At least I thought I said sure Bryan says something got lost in the translation and my reply sounded very much like Holy Arrangements were made and I trekked along with Bryan to assignments in Buffalo and Cleveland A companion on the trip was veteran NHL Linesman Leon Stickle of Milton Stickle is a character in his own right His onice hangdog expres sion belies a sense of humor and comedic timing that can best be described in a family newspaper as Off the wall Stickle has retired from the NHL wars but its good to know he will be working in some capaci ty for Lewis out of the NHL Of ficials offices in Toronto The Cleveland Barons will go down as a brief hiccup in NHL an nals but they played out of perhaps the most luxurious of venues Colosseum There were only about people at the game I attended and the highlight of the game for the fans was the tumble taken by some poor soul down the steps with popcorn pop and cascading around him as he finally came to a crun ching halt I think he was chosen the games second star As stated Colosseum was gorgeous but huge I got lost twice Amazingly I was rescued on both occasions by the same gracious and usherette I attempted to get lost a third time but her boss quietly and firmly escorted me to the press pit In Buffalo Lewis introduced me to Scotty Morrison at that time the man in charge of NHL referees I also met John Ferguson and erstwhile Ranger goaltender and current broadcaster John Davidson Lewis arranged a seat for me in the penalty box and I couldnt have been much closer to the action without stepping on the ice I was almost beheaded by an er rant stick thrown in disgust by Sabres star Gilbert who had just been assessed a minor penalty by Lewis Needless to say 1 didnt introduce myself to as a friend of the referees On this sporting sojourn Lewis went well out of his way in making sure I enjoyed myself If I needed information on anything and Bryan didnt know the answer he put me in touch with the people who could give me what I needed This giving side of Bryan Lewis is a side the general public is rare ly allowed to view He is Chairman of the Halton Make A Wish fund Treasurer of the Hornby Minor Softball Associa tion and was honored by the On tario Hockey Association for his work in minor hockey during the Bom in Alliston Lewis now moved with his family to Georgetown when he was five years old His mother also still resides here Wife Elaine is active in Georgetown minor hockey circles The couple have three children Janelle 19 will be entering her freshman year at Wilfrid Laurier University 16 plays in the Georgetown minor hockey system and Alyson is entering her fint year at Stewarttown school and plays Softball out of Hornby Lewis embarked on his of ficiating career while in his early teens in the Georgetown minor hockey system Officiating was secondary to playing however at that point in his life He was good enough to play Junior hockey for three cen tres and toiled for teams in Burl ington Brampton and Dixie It was while playing for Dixie that he met his wifetobe Elaine Her father owned the team and with tongue firmly in cheek Lewis still lists this his marriage as perhaps his greatest sacrifice to the game After unsuccessful tryouts with Junior A teams in Toronto and Niagara Falls Lewis realized his only ticket to the NHL Big would be stamped with black and white stripes and turned his energy and enterprised into hockey refereeing His potential as a hockey official was first really recognized by then OHA Pat Patter son and Lewis began the long climb up the hockey ranks Minor hockey Junior Junior A Senior A Intermediate basically every level was touched Lewis even worked in the old two officials Intermediate games so he has paid his dues He was also the of the first Georgetown International Bantam Hockey Tournament He has already been huddling with other fellow NHL Rules Com mittee members and suggested that five or six minor changes will be implemented during the up coming NHL exhibition season Basically his position as Direc tor of Officiating Involves the day- today overseeing of officials under the direction of the leagues Vice- President of Hockey Operations Jim Gregory But there is more to the job than meets the eye Aside from officials currently working in the National Hockey League Lewis will be keeping tabs on officials working in the American Hockey League the International Hockey League the Central Collegiate Hockey Association the East Coast Hockey League and the tliree Ma jor Junior hockey leagues He will be on hand and no doubt on the ice when approximately 67 current and potential NHL officials attend training camp scheduled for Sept 7 at Etobicoke Centennial Park It promises to be an exciting and challenging year for Bryan Lewis but one small voice from this cor ner says he will handle it with the style that marks the man tram Draw and Car Wish to Marlon Department Santa Claus Parade Fond ROYS TEXACO 186 Mill St ACTON