Adam Massaro gets the chance to fulfill his goal in Estevan, Saskatchewan.
The Thunder Bay referee was one of 16 officials selected to work the Centennial Cup, which is Canada’s National Junior A Championship.
Officials were coached and evaluated throughout the season across the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) before Hockey Canada made the picks to work the 10-team tournament.
“Definitely excited when I got the call,” Massaro told Acadia News before departing for Saskatchewan. “The championship used to be known as the RBC Cup, and that was a goal of mine to officiate that tournament so this is even bigger and better.”
Massaro became a member of the National High Performance group (formerly known as Level 6) after completing the evaluation in Montreal back in 2020. That allows him to be considered for regional and national championships.
He officiates games in the Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) which poses a question as to whether he will be able to work games involving the Red Lake Miners.
“I’m sure that they will probably put a known official in a game or two in the round-robin with (the Miners). I’m sure they’ll even match up myself with a referee from the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) if those teams play each other,” Massaro noted.
The Miners will skate with the Pickering Panthers (OJHL) to open their schedule with subsequent games against the Brooks Bandits (AJHL), Estevan Bruins (HOST) and College Francais de Longueuil (LHJAAAQ).
As of now, there is no plan for a 10-team national championship beyond this year, and Red Lake would have the first right-of-refusal to host a rescheduled Dudley-Hewitt Cup in May of 2023.
