Hockey Regina's Watson is tired of 'overzealous' parents

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In his 18 years as executive director of Hockey Reginas, Blair Watson has seen two seasoned NHL players and countless parents who were confident their child would make it.

Cole Sillinger, who already plays in the NHL, and Maddox Schultz, who will do so, said Watson, who will retire in August from an organization that expects to manage 2,384 players on 158 boys and girls teams in Regina between the ages of 5 and 18 by 2024-25.

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Sillinger just completed his third NHL season with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Schultz, a rising star, is expected to join the Regina Pat Canadians under-18s this upcoming season.

I'm going to miss a lot of great people, including our staff and so many volunteers who do things for the right reasons, said Watson, 60. But I won't miss the politically over-enthusiastic parents.

They are the ones who never reach out to help, but they always complain and are not grateful at all. There are more and more of these crazy people, people who think that hockey is not just a game.

Since Watson was hired in 2006 to work for the nonprofit in a dingy warehouse on Winnipeg Street, Hockey Regina's annual budget has grown from $800,000 to nearly $4 million. The company also moved its five employees into a purpose-built office in the Co-Operators Centre. Revenue comes from registrations and sponsorships.

While the city of Regina handles ice time, HR handles registrations and coaching selections, player drafts, scheduling for officials, timekeepers and tryouts. Conflicts abound.

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Discipline is handled by volunteers, primarily the director of each division, with input from Hockey Regina. When the coach of the U18 AAA Regina Rebels women’s team was temporarily suspended last season, the directive came from Hockey Canada. Watson had to enforce the suspension and deal with the public fallout before the suspension was rescinded without credibility.

There are guys I would never have met without my job, Watson said. Geoff Thachuk came on the board when I started, lives four blocks from my house, became the president, comes to our cottage to ice fish. Larry Wees was the president around Covid times. Darrin McKechnie, who coached the Pat Canadians. (Former Rebels coach) Mike Merk. Great people.

If I count the current one, 11 presidents I've worked with. Sometimes it's hard to work with a volunteer board, but 97 percent of the people really want to help. I'm going to miss that.

Watson's replacement has already been chosen Amanda Hungle will start July 15, according to a press release from HR President Michele Ellingsen Ailsby. Hungle said she grew up playing and officiating at Hockey Regina before playing at the collegiate level at Michigan. She earned bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration from the University of Regina.

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When asked what advice he would give to his successor, Watson replied: Be positive and don't take it personally.

Watson played hockey growing up in Regina, where his father George was heavily involved in sports administration and was president of Hockey Regina's predecessors.

Blair eventually coached numerous teams, including the Pat Canadians, while trying to coach his sons and wife Tracey, Stephen, now a Level 5 official, and Spencer, who still plays senior hockey at Yellow Grass. Blair also coached AAA teams at Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, where his most successful team included future NHLers Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards.

He was still playing hockey when he decided he wanted to be a coach, George said. He went to coaching clinics and started in the old Metropolitan Hockey League. He won a city championship one year, a state championship, and won the city the next year.

Blair is one of those guys who has the right temperament to coach, referee or work at Hockey Regina. He got a lot of that training with the (Saskatchewan) Roughriders.

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After graduating from the University of Regina and earning his degree in accounting, Blair joined the CFL's Roughriders, eventually becoming their chief financial officer. He spent 18 years with the Roughriders before the organization folded under president/CEO Jim Hopson, who dumped Watson and forced him to find another job.

I was more of a hockey player than a football player, Watson said. When (Hockey Regina) hired me, they were concerned that I was just going to take this job to find something else. I was. I said I would commit for three years. It's 18 already!

I came to the rink last September, in shorts, not a breath of wind and I thought: Hmmm. Golf. It's time.

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