Few things in life come with more drastic changes than parenthood.
So while Kelowna referee Steve Papp might be coming off his best season as a junior hockey referee, the arrival of his first child less than a month ago means those road trips around the province and across Canada could get tougher to handle.
Still, after he and his wife Kristen welcomed baby boy Hunter into the family last month, Papp, 27, says he wants to continue to work as much as he can as long as it doesn’t interfere with his young family.
“It’s still a goal of mine to get as far as I can,” said Papp before a recent Kelowna Rockets playoff game. “I think with this profession they are looking for the number one draft pick and there are so many guys at that level in the WHL, the Ontario Hockey League and the Quebec league that it’s tough. Being asked to work games like the Memorial Cup or the World Junior tournament are like our Stanley Cup.”
This year marks the 10th year Papp has been calling junior hockey games in B.C., calling an average of 12 games per month in the Western Hockey League and the B.C. Hockey League.
It’s not an easy job, dealing with the pressures from fans, players and coaches and your own expectations.
But this year Papp was given some good feedback when the BCHL named him its first ever winner of the Kelly Sutherland Award as the league’s top ref.
“Steve has the utmost respect of the teams and his peers,” said BCHL director of officiating Derek Adams. “For the past few years, Steve has acted as a mentor to our younger officials in the league and has been a big part of helping these officials adjust to junior hockey.”
For Papp, adjusting from hockey to being one of the men-in-stripes on the ice began at a young age. He played minor hockey up until the age of 14 when he started calling games. By the time he was 17 he was working in BCHL and for the past eight years has been working in the both the BCHL and WHL. He no longer works as a linesman and focusses strictly on working as a referee.
Last year he worked through the third round of the Western Hockey League playoffs and is hoping to get the call to go farther in the WHL this year.
For the Kelowna native, it boils down to being involved in the sport of hockey at a high level.
“The way I look at it is I love the game of hockey,” he said. “I live and breathe hockey. Being a referee allows me to be on the ice at a high level and be involved at what I think is a prestigious level. You get to see the guys who came through the league and you build relationships with some of the guys that move on. Just being involved makes it all worthwhile.”
So after more than 13 years as a referee or linesman—the past 10 of which has been in junior hockey—Steve Papp enters the world of fatherhood, hoping his son loves the game of hockey as much as he does. And if he had the choice, would young Hunter follow in his footsteps as a referee or would be prefer his son be a player.
“A hockey player, for sure,” said Papp with a big smile.
