In the sport of hockey, there are times in which the contributions of the game’s unsung heroes perhaps go unnoticed in all the hoopla and celebration of the team’s big win or championship victory.
The family and friends of Outlook resident Kim Sobkowicz wanted to ensure that his dedication to hockey was recognized in full. Kim, a long-time official on the ice, reached an eye-opening milestone last fall when he officiated his 1500th game on October 4, 2019 in a battle between the Saskatoon Rage and the Macklin Royals.
The impressive achievement was marked with a special presentation honoring Sobkowicz before the provincial playoff game between the Outlook Ice Hawks and the Wilkie Outlaws on Saturday night, February 15 at the Jim Kook Rec Plex. Aaron Williams, on behalf of Outlook Minor Sports, presented Kim with a replica of his referee jersey placed behind glass, along with a puck marking the magic number of ‘1500’. Williams was joined by Darick Forbes, Southern Representative of the Saskatchewan Hockey Association’s Referee Division, who shared some kind words about Kim’s dedication to the sport and to the role of on-ice official.
The entire thing was a surprise to the man himself, a secretive event plotted by Sobkowicz’s teaching colleagues at Outlook High School, as well as his wife Kim.
“I’m surprised for sure,” Kim shared, speaking with this reporter after exiting the ice after the first period. “I don’t do this for recognition, just to help out the association. This year is my 34th season. I did it a little bit as a kid for a couple of years, and when my wife and I moved to Whitewood, they had a AA Midget team in the league that needed some help, so I decided to become a linesman only, and it just went on from there.”
For Sobkowicz, the game of hockey brings it own unique challenges in his role as a referee, but it’s a different one from the classroom and school environment. However, it’s also something of a similar role; after all, Kim spends countless hours mentoring and developing young referees coming up in the sport. When he’s not doing that, he’s traveling to seminars, clinics and other hockey-centric events in the cities of Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, constantly honing and fine-tuning his knowledge of the sport.
“It’s the challenge for me,” said Kim, on what he enjoys most out of officiating. “It’s a different kind of pressure and a different kind of stress, I guess. It takes some stress away from the other job, not that that’s a big deal, but it’s mainly for the enjoyment. I wanted to stay close to the game of hockey because when you get older, you can’t play anymore! I had a lot of years where I did both – 40 games of reffing and 40 games of senior hockey, and that’s a lot of hockey when I was younger and with three kids. My wife has always been understanding though, and she knows my passion for it.”
So then, the question at this point becomes rather obvious: does Kim have what it takes to reach another milestone of officiating perhaps 2000 games?
“You know, with rural teams having 50 games a season at most, that’s another ten years,” he smiled. “If my knees and ankles hold up, they’re in good shape now but you never say never, right? I’d like to keep going, and if I can get to 2000, that’d be awesome. The number right now for me is just a personal milestone, but it’s nice to see it recognized and I thank everybody for that.”
With the years that Kim has put into it and with such an obvious dedication, it becomes crystal clear to those who know him best that the man known affectionately as ‘Sobby’ lives and breathes the game of hockey.
