Three to four thousand screaming fans, with players and coaches whose only desire is to advance to the next level of play can easily create an atmosphere where the intensity level is through the roof.
Officials in the midst of it all are certainly not immune to the pressures of the game.
Make no mistake: the life of an OHL linesman carries with it a level of stress that can consume those who simply cannot cope with this kind of level of scrutiny.
Now five years into his OHL career, local on-ice official Zach Gagné says the average Friday night encounter at the Old Barn on Elgin Street is actually where he comes to get away from it all.
Now in his fourth year of medical school, mere months away from beginning his residency, the long-time native of Rayside-Balfour can be forgiven for recognizing that a hockey game, even at the OHL level, is hardly a life and death affair.
“I look at officiating as kind of a refuge from everything else,” Gagné said recently, as the 29-year-old prepared to step on the ice at Countryside Arena for a Sudbury Cubs game versus the Iroquois Falls Storm.
“When I go out on the ice, it doesn’t matter what is going on at school. I just focus on the game. I remember having some very stressful days at school, but then for that three or four hours you are on the ice, nothing else matters. You completely forget about it.”
The fact that Zach Gagné has risen to this pinnacle in hockey is a somewhat unforgettable story in and of itself. Where the current mantra calls for ex-junior or university players to be plucked out and groomed into officiating once their playing days are done, Gagné is from the old school trajectory.
“I transitioned to officiating when I was 13,” said the talkative young man who can perform this impressive balancing act in large part thanks to the support of his fiancee, Julie Vachon.
In his early teens, Gagné was playing house league hockey in his hometown. In fact, he never played a day of rep hockey in his life.
“I would say I was a late bloomer,” he stated, recalling a U14 season he spent under the watchful eye of head coach Denis Castonguay as providing something of a springboard to his officiating potential.
“That was the year I really stepped up,” said Gagné. “I kind of started to surpass others in skating and from there, I just continued to move forward.”
If the physical demands of officiating were to be gradually ingrained in this friendly young man, the character components that are at least as important were pretty much there from the start.
“I think my officiating style is grounded in calmness,” he suggested, surely a highly desirable asset as well as he tackles the medical field in the decades to come.
“I can easily stay calm under pressure. Even if internally I might be boiling a little, on the outside, I am very good at keeping it calm.”
For as much as he is known as a strong communicator on the ice, Gagné admitted that this was far more of a learned skill.
“I was a very shy kid at first,” he said. “I credit officiating for bringing me out of my shell. When I first started, I didn’t have an on-ice presence at all. I had to develop and build into that.”
By the time the Ontario Hockey League came calling, Zach Gagné had burgeoned in many of the areas critical in his field. Throw in a little helpful advice from someone who had walked in his shoes, many times over, and he was ready to go.
“I honestly think that the biggest thing (at higher levels of hockey) is the ability to work with other people, the teamwork,” he said. “When I was first coming up, Doug Horner (OHL Officiating Manager) always emphasized that. You want to be somebody the other officials like working with.”
Away from the rink, Gagné began his studies in psychology (undergraduate degree) at Laurentian University unsure of whether to pursue law or medicine. In year two, the latter would win out – thanks in part to another innate trait of the Zach Gagné persona.
“I love learning. I’m a lifelong student,” he said with a smile. “And medicine, in general, provides that for me.”
Officiating, by contract: well, that’s his chance to get away from the stress of a career that will provide incredible perspective when all those around you are losing their minds on the ice.
Randy Pascal is a sportswriter in Greater Sudbury. Pursuit is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.