Mr. Speaker, on frozen ponds and backyard rinks, thousands of young Canadians across the country grow up dreaming of their name on the back of an NHL jersey, etched on the side of the Stanley Cup, or resting with the legends who came before them in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Guelph's Bill McCreary is no exception. Growing up, he played junior hockey, but his path to the NHL took a different route. He was approached to become an official. After spending some time in the Ontario Hockey Association, the Central Hockey League, and the American Hockey League, Bill was signed to an NHL contract and worked his first game 30 years ago on November 3, 1984.
Over the course of a distinguished career, Bill would go on to officiate at 1,737 regular season and 297 playoff games and at the Winter Olympics, international tournaments, and an all-star game, always with his signature puck flip at the faceoff.
This weekend, Bill becomes the 16th NHL official named to the Hockey Hall of Fame, and the second from Guelph, and we congratulate him on an exemplary career.