Document 6590229

Paul Krestanowich
Winnipeg, MB
Paul was born in Winnipeg and currently resides in River Heights, the same area he spent his childhood.
He is married to Cory, and together they have four children; Adam (12), Madeline (10), Aaron (8) and
Colin (6). Paul's involvement in our great game spans over five decades, and he has participated and
contributed in almost every way. He has been a player, official, coach, administrator and hockey dad,
and has many accomplishments both at the elite and grassroots levels.
He played his minor hockey out of River Heights CC and Sir John Franklin CC from 1976 - 1987. Paul also
played for the Charleswood Hawks of the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League (MMJHL) from 1989 1991.
Paul was a certified Hockey Manitoba official from 1983 - 2004 and his list of accomplishments and
experiences are very impressive:
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Referee-in-Chief, Assiniboine Park Hockey Association (APHA), 1987 - 1991
Hockey MB referee supervisor, 1991 - 2001
Western Hockey League referee/linesman, 1991 - 1997
MJHL/MMJHL/CIS referee/linesman, 1991 - 2003
Level 6 Official, 1995 - 2004
IIHF referee (worked multiple Team Canada tours), 1995 - 1998
Refereed gold medal game at 1997 World University Games in Chonju, Korea
IHL & AHL referee/linesman 1996 - 2004
Paul has also found time to be a certified hockey coach from 1987 - present, and has coached minor
hockey at all levels from Initiation to AA to high school hockey over the years. After a brief break, Paul
again became heavily involved with coaching again when his four children started playing hockey.
On top of all this, Paul has been a key administrator at the River Heights/Corydon Community Club for a
number of years. He spent five years as Convener from 2008 - 2012, and continues to look after the
budgeting, sponsorship and other paperwork for the community club hockey program. He has been the
House League Hockey Tournament Chair from 2008 - present, Vice President of Ops/tryouts in APHA
from 2011 - 2014, and was recently elected as the President of APHA (term 2014 - 2016).
Paul played a very important role in creating the Corydon CC Timbits manual (modeled after Calgary)
and implementing Long Term Player Development (LTPD) principles within the Initiation hockey program
in 2010. All Initiation teams within APHA adopted the LTPD program in 2012, and Paul has been a
driving force behind the focus on skill development and respect for everyone in the game.
Paul's father was a long time board member at the River Heights Community Club when he was a child,
and he always said, "those that give back to their community club will benefit them personally more
than they can ever know." Paul, along with his siblings, would spend countless hours out at the club
while his father attended meetings, ran the winter carnival, etc. Paul and his wife feel they can never do
enough to help out their community centre and everything it provides to his family and the
neighborhood.
It's this commitment and dedication to the game, along with his willingness to help out in any way
possible that certainly makes him an outstanding recipient of the Canadian Tire Hero of Play Award.