‘For the love of the game’: Officiating runs in the blood of Weyburn family

Doug Walter and his sons Brody, Keaton, and Preston are set to officiate together for the first time. Donovan Maess has more

A crew of hockey referees from Weyburn share more than just the ice and their love for the game — they also share the same last name.

Doug Walter began officiating more than 30 years ago.

“I do it for the love of the game,” he told CTV News Friday. “I coach, still play rec hockey myself and referee. If I’m not [at the rink], I’m at home sleeping.”

He has passed that passion on to his three sons, Brody, Keaton and Preston, who have all earned their own stripes as referees.

Brody, the oldest, started officiating seven years ago.

“I started out because of my dad,” he said. “I always watched [him] as a kid and always looked up to him. And to just stay in the game because playing hockey wasn’t really in the cards for me to keep going.”

Preston is in his second season as a referee.

“Because my brothers did, I like hockey and I felt like I could be engaged in it,” he explained.

Doug said he is proud of his sons for continuing the family tradition.

“I’m super proud of all my kids and where they’re at. I’m really proud they’ve continued to do something I enjoy doing myself.”

The Walter crew

While most games the individual Walters work apart, on Saturday they will step onto the ice together as one crew.

All four Walter referees will officiate a local U15 game.

“I was always hoping things would come about like this,” said Doug. “Coaching them hockey and then slowly getting involved in reffing, now everybody’s involved.”

The family says this will be the first game of this kind they will work together.

“We’ve always wanted to do that,” Brody said. “It’s really all coming together and it’s going to be cool to see all of them go out there and have fun.”

“It’s actually going to be a good game,” added Preston. “And I feel like its going to be a lot of fun and great to have a well-called game.”

It’s a moment Doug says will be one which lasts.

“I’m super excited just to get on the ice with them and just share that memory,” he added. “It’s something [we] can keep forever.”

Paying it forward

It’s a rare opportunity for the Walters to work a game together.

Brody, who is the oldest, now goes to school in Saskatoon. He’s worked his way up the different levels, including as a linesperson in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

Taking what he’s learned through his career, he now passes it on to his little brothers.

“[I] work with them, try to help them grow and try to pass down what I’ve learned from my dad and all the other officials I worked with to try and make them better,” he said. “You just have to soak up all those moments. And it’s a fun experience just to be to be back here working with them because we always we always sit at home and talk hockey all the time.”

Brody adds he often drills into his brothers that putting in their best effort on the ice is the first step of being a good referee.

“Even though as refs we do make mistakes, putting your best foot forward is always the best thing you can do,” he said.

“They’ve always taught me to be consistent,” added Preston. “Sometimes a ref can be like on and off a call.”

“You’ve got to have a love for it,” Doug said. “Now they push me.”

As his way of giving back to the sport, Doug has become an official mentor in the local hockey association, training and coaching the next generation of referees.

He hopes as his sons get older and continue refining their skills, more games at higher levels are still to come.

“They’re going to get older and we’re going to do higher and higher levels, and it’ll be exciting,” Dough said. “Maybe we’ll go from U15 to U18, and maybe, do a senior hockey game together someday.”