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Draft:Bernard Haley

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Bernard "Bernie" Haley was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. As a boy in the Edmonton Maple Leafs Minor Hockey program, he developed an early passion for the game.

In June 2026, Bernie will be inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame as a Hockey Builder.[1] This long-deserved recognition speaks to Bernie's lifelong contributions to the sport of hockey specifically as it pertains to his work as an On-ice Official where he modelled the skills, talent and pursuit of excellence and demonstrated his work as an ambassador of the sport and province both locally, nationally and internationally.[2]

After High School Bernie was awarded an "Elite Prospect" hockey scholarship to the University of North Dakota (UND).[3] While attending UND, he played for the North Dakota Fighting Sioux and was a member of the 1958-59 team when they achieved their first National College Athletic Association Championship victory.[4] That team and first victory are celebrated to this day! Along with his teammates, he was inducted into the UND Letterwinners Athletic Hall of Fame as a member of the 1958-59 hockey team in November 23, 2002.[5]

In an interview former University of North Dakota Teammates they mentioned "another teammate - Bernard Haley - became an elite referee ...he was such a fast skater that once in the 1980 Olympics, a Russian player passed him the puck, thinking he was a teammate."[6]

After completing his bachelor's degree at UND, Bernie went on to Michigan State where he earned his MBA. During those two-years in East Lansing he directed the Spartan Intramural Hockey Program. Bernie then returned to Red Deer where he continued his love for ice hockey with the Senior Red Deer Rustlers.[7] His competitive career as a player ended shortly thereafter when, with encouragement from his brothers Len "Comet" Haley[8]and Don, he chose to focus his energy on participating in the game as an on-ice official.

Bernie actively participated in the sport of hockey for over thirty years, at various levels, and in a variety of roles, but his true passion was officiating. He was known for his extraordinary strength, speed and agility on skates. His skating finesse gave him the ability to always be well positioned to make a call, sometimes to the chagrin of the players including the likes of Mark Messier, the Sutter brothers, Corey Hirsch and Kelly Kisio!

Sportsnet - Hockey Night in Canada Sportscaster Ron McLean a former referee colleague commented, "We had an official from Central Alberta, Bernie Haley of Innisfail. He had worked at the Lake Placid Games in 1980 and he was one of my idols. Bernie was a beautiful skater. Really had that gorgeous stride – a long stride, powerful stride, like Paul Coffee."[1]

Bernie devoted his time to managing the assignment of the referees and linesmen for Hockey Alberta Central Zone 4 for twenty plus (20+) years. He also instructed at clinics in many communities in Zone 4 and often followed up the clinics by refereeing a game in the evening. He often officiated 7/8 games every week of a season, including Alberta Junior A League, Alberta Junior B Leagues, Alberta Intermediate Leagues, Alberta Senior Leagues, Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference, Minor Hockey across Central Alberta and Alberta Women's Hockey League.

Achievements

Provincial and National

Bernie never missed an assigned game, because in his words, "there was no way I was going to let down the teams or fans". He drove all over the province, often in inclement Alberta weather to provide on-ice officiating at all levels, including:

1972-1974 Official - World Hockey Association (WHA) Alberta Oilers[9]

1974-1978 Official - World Hockey Association (WHA) Calgary Cowboys[10]

1972 Official - National High Performance (NHP)

1970s National Representative for Hockey Canada formerly Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) at Officials' Rules Meetings held in Toronto followed by a number of other Canadian locations

1975 Official - Canada Winter Games (Lethbridge). Refereed the bronze medal game,

1970-1992 Official Abbott Cup (Jr. A), Allan Cup Senior (AAA), Canadian Colleges' Athletic Association Championships, Centennial Cup (Jr. A), Hardy Cup Senior (AA/Intermediate A), Memorial Cup (CHL), Provincial championships (All levels), Purolator Cup (CHL) and the Wrigley Cup (National Midget AAA)

International

Bernie proudly represented Canada at several world class ice hockey events including:

1972 Official - International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Bernie was the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association CAHA choice as Canada's only official at the World Hockey Championships (Prague, Czechoslovakia)

1980 Official - Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) Winter Olympics (Lake Placid, New York) CAHA choice as Canada's only official. He was scheduled to referee the gold medal game but when USA upset the USSR in the semi-finals, the assignment was changed to the bronze medal game by the IIHF to prevent what may have been considered a 'home ice official' for the USA in the gold medal game.[11] Winter Olympics 1980 Day 07 Sweden vs USSR (24 Feb 1980)[12] 29:25, 42:35 ⁦⁩and 51:00

1981 Official - IIHF World Hockey Championships (Gothenburg, Sweden) CAHA choice as Canada's only official

1980's Canadian Representative - IIHF Rules committee meetings in Europe followed by Officials' Rules Meetings in Duluth, Minnesota and Innsbruck, Austria

Awards

1972 Level VI Referee National High Performance (NHP) Accreditation. NHP Referees are of the highest officiating status in the sport of hockey.

1980 Alberta Achievement Award of Excellence for contribution to Ice Hockey Officiating

1988 Officiating Recognition for Alberta Winter Games - Alberta Sport Council

1994 Ernie Boruk Award for outstanding dedication and contribution to the Hockey Alberta Officials Committee[13]

1995 Officiating Recognition - Alberta Canadian Western Natural Gas/ Northwestern Utilities

1995 Alberta Sports Development Award for Officiating

1990 Alberta Amateur Hockey Association Referees Committee. Recognition of Dedicated Service to the North Central Zone

2002 Inductee - University of North Dakota Letterwinners Athletic Hall of Fame[14]

2018 Inaugural "Bernie Haley Award for Officiating" - Innisfail Minor Hockey[15]

https://edition.pagesuite.com/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&pubid=5096ed54-1b6c-40b1-843c-253eef621d6c&utm_source=the+albertan&utm_campaign=the+albertan%3a+outbound&utm_medium=referral (P24)

[16][17][18][19][20][21][22]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958–59 North Dakota Fighting Sioux men%27s ice hockey season

References

[edit]
  1. ^ https://centralalbertaonline.com/articles/longtime-innisfail-resident-headed-to-alberta-sports-hall-of-fame
  2. ^ https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BBWEah7fN/
  3. ^ https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/425438/bernard-haley
  4. ^ https://siouxsports.com/hockey/history/ncaa5859.htm
  5. ^ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958–59_North_Dakota_Fighting_Sioux_men%27s_ice_hockey_season
  6. ^ https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/bob-peabody-fought-polio-an-organized-blood-clot-surgery-and-stitches-to-help-und-win-a-national-championship-in-1959
  7. ^ https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=30311
  8. ^ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Len_Haley
  9. ^ https://sportsteamhistory.com/alberta-oilers/
  10. ^ https://www.retroseasons.com/teams/calgary-cowboys/
  11. ^ https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/5001398
  12. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_5ISO4hWqs⁩
  13. ^ https://officials.hockeyalberta.ca/awards/ernie-boruk-award/
  14. ^ https://fightinghawks.com/honors/hall-of-fame/team-1958-59-hockey/93
  15. ^ https://www.thealbertan.com/local-sports/celebrating-successful-minor-hockey-season-1817827
  16. ^ https://centralalbertaonline.com/articles/longtime-innisfail-resident-headed-to-alberta-sports-hall-of-fame
  17. ^ https://lethbridgenewsnow.com/2025/12/03/alberta-sports-hall-of-fame-reveals-class-of-
  18. ^ https://beyondthebenchmedia.ca/2025/03/01/from-pen-and-paper-to-the-four-nations-face-off/
  19. ^ https://goteamstripes.com/blogs/team-stripes-blog/ron-maclean-s-career-as-a-hockey-referee
  20. ^ https://officials.hockeyalberta.ca/awards/ernie-boruk-award/
  21. ^ https://www.thealbertan.com/local-sports/a-league-of-innisfails-own-1809083
  22. ^ https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/bob-peabody-fought-polio-an-organized-blood-clot-surgery-and-stitches-to-help-und-win-a-national-championship-in-1959
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