Battlefords local, Wheler reflects on call to Sask Hockey Hall

“It was pretty exciting,” Wheler said of the event. “It seems so far off when you first hear of it, and then all of a sudden it’s that day and you’ve arranged hotels and tickets […] “It was a beautiful day and I just have so many people to thank.

“From my parents initially driving me to and from games before I was able to drive, to then my wife and my kids – because you are away a lot [in the NHL] – just the total support made it that much more enjoyable. From Battleford to family, to Saskatchewan.”

Growing up across the bridge in Battleford as the youngest of seven kids, it didn’t take long for Wheler to fall in love with the game of hockey, in a community that – like many in Saskatchewan – revolved around the local rink, and with a plethora of games in need of officiating.

“It was a great place for me to get a chance at officiating at a young age,” he said reflecting back on those early years at the community rink. “They had very forward-thinking people [in charge of officiating] and I can’t start the story without mentioning my brother Ken, who was an official in the Battlefords and area and kind of blazed the trail and made it look interesting so I gave it a try.”

By age 13, Wheler was working games in the Saskatchewan Amateur Junior Hockey League as it was known at the time, in the days of the Battlefords Barons.

Following high school graduation, Wheler then moved to Saskatoon with the goal of working in the WHL, which he did, starting at just 18 years of age, when he would have been a couple of years younger than many of the junior players.

Mark Wheler spent 26 years as an official in the National Hockey League. (Submitted photos/Mark Wheler)

Making his NHL debut in the fall of 1992, just a couple of years before fellow Class of ’23 inductees, Friesen and Redden joined the league, Wheler said he can still recall working his first game with Friesen, who he was aware of as a fellow WHL alumnus from northern Saskatchewan, who at the time was playing for the San Jose Sharks.

“We played Meadow Lake all the time [growing up] and I remember when Jeff Friesen was just starting with San Jose, we were just skating around the ice and I said ‘hey – you’re from Meadow Lake,” and he said ‘Yeah!’

“…I said ‘Well I’m from Battleford and we used to kick your [butt] all the time!’ he recalled with a laugh, before adding as an aside, “He was way younger than me and we didn’t beat them anyway, but it broke the ice and just acknowledged another Sasky boy.”

It’s stories like that that would make the late Brad McCrimmon smile, another Saskatchewan-born longtime NHLer, both as a player and as a coach, who Wheler said gave him a word of advice he still cherishes to this day.

“I remember we were sitting somewhere in LA after a game and he punched me in the arm like big Brad would do, and said, “Don’t ever forget where you’re from. Never forget where you’re from.”

“That was great advice,” Wheler said. “Don’t let [success] go to your head, and make the best of your opportunities.”

Perhaps the best evidence of Wheler doing just that is shown in his answer to what stands out most, looking back on his nearly 30-year career as a decorated National Hockey League official. It’s not the number of games, the luxury hotels or the status he obtained, but rather the people he’s met along the way that come first to his mind.

“I really find the best people I know, I know through hockey one way or another,” Wheler said. “Whether it’s players or fellow officials, or the guy who runs the off-ice officials, there’s just so many good people involved in the game and I was so fortunate to be a part of it at the highest level.

“It was a great career.”

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1

by Martin Martinson

Battlefords local, Wheler reflects on call to Sask Hockey Hall

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