When Hometown Hockey comes to Collingwood next weekend, it will include a local whose name is in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Bill McCreary is a retired NHL official, and one of only 16 referees (four living) in the Hockey Hall of Fame. He lives in Lora Bay in The Blue Mountains, and will be part of the Hometown Hockey celebrations in Collingwood on Dec. 29 and 30.
McCreary learned to skate on a backyard rink his mother and brother built for him. He was three-years-old and he had just fought off meningitis. His sister died of the same disease.
“Learning to skate was a huge accomplishment for me,” said McCreary. “At that time, I had a Maple Leafs Shirt, a stick in my hand and there were snowbanks for boards. My dream was one day play in the NHL … it was every little boy’s dream because you watch the Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada.”
While he once cheered for the Leafs, after 29 years in the NHL, he no longer has a favourite team.
“Once you get into officiating, you are totally neutral,” he said. “As an official, you just want to see everybody doing well.”
McCreary played hockey up to the Junior level for teams including the St. Catherines Black Hawks and the Windsor Spitfires, but he didn’t quite measure up to professional-level players. He returned home to Guelph where he started officiating.
He said he was “in the right place at the right time” and was invited to an NHL officials training camp in 1981 at the age of 29. He had been officiating for three years prior.
“Back then they were gruelling,” he said. “It was 14 days and a tremendous amount of skating. We studied rules. As the game has evolved, so have our training camps.”
McCreary is now a coach and mentor to new NHL officials. He said training now includes a lot more video from hockey games to help officials learn the rules as they apply to the game.
Skills are important for a hockey official, and McCreary had to train hard all 29 years of his career.
“The better your skill set in all areas – backward, forward, agility – the better chance you have of giving yourself the ability to see the play properly,” said McCreary. “If you’re an above average skater, it just enhances your chances while you’re performing your duties.”
There are other important skills an NHL official needs, and these ones are on and off the ice.
“A great attribute is being able to communicate with people,” said McCreary. “It’s an emotional game and it’s played at high speeds.”
As a referee, McCreary carried the same passion that was born in that three-year-old child learning to skate in his backyard.
“I always wanted to be the best, I wanted to be number one,” said McCreary.
That drive pushed him to officiate a record-setting 44 Stanley Cup final games and 297 playoff games.
He was part of the referee crews at the 1998 Nagano, 2002 Salt Lake City, and 2010 Vancouver Olympics where he officiated all three gold medal games.
He was the first Canadian allowed and chosen to work while the Canadian Team was playing in Salt Lake City.
“When you’re involved in the Olympics, you realize very quickly it’s country against country,” he said. “There’s a tremendous amount of pride. I don’t think you can ever measure the amount of pride on the line.”
That pride comes not only from the players, but the fans. Sometimes an official takes the brunt of the emotions that get heated when so much is riding on - at times - a single goal.
“To be honest, I have a different spin on it than a lot of people I guess,” said McCreary. I feel that fans are fantastic. Without the fans we don’t have the game of hockey. I always enjoyed when the buildings were filled. The very few times someone says something that’s personal is very seldom … Nobody’s ever thanked a referee for a penalty and that’s part of the job you have to do.”
McCreary said his 29 years as an official were filled with big achievements, but his 2014 induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame was the ultimate badge of honour.
“That’s the top of the mountain. That’s as far as you can go,” he said. “It’s just an incredible feeling … I never dreamed of being in the Hockey Hall of Fame, I thought that was for a different level of people.”
And the honours keep coming, with a recent invitation to join Tara Slone and Ron MacLean for Hometown Hockey in Collingwood. He’s a fan of the show, and is looking forward to being part of the community celebrations.
“I just think the game itself is the most exciting game in the world,” he said, adding he’s glad the Hometown Hockey show sheds light on different communities in Canada. “When you live in a smaller community, you get involved and you give back to the community. Hockey has a way of drawing people together and building community spirit and involvement.”
Speaking of community spirit, McCreary now runs a charity golf tournament at Lora Bay each summer, called the McCreary Charity Classic, and he’s raised $105,000 over the last three years for local hospitals, girls hockey, and youth soccer.
Rogers Hometown Hockey hits Collingwood Dec. 29 and 30 starting at noon each day outside Town Hall. It ends Sunday night with an outdoor viewing party of the Arizona Coyotes vs. Vegas Golden Knights game.
You can download the full schedule of events here.
