Local linesman Galloway calling it a career after more than two decades in NHL

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This article was published 29/03/2024 (554 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s last call for Ryan Galloway.

The 52-year-old Winnipeg product, who has worked as an NHL linesman since 2002, will hang up his whistle for good following Monday’s game at Canada Life Centre featuring the Winnipeg Jets and the Los Angeles Kings.

Hundreds of family members and friends he’s made around the hockey world will be in attendance.

“It’s going to be beyond emotional,” Galloway told the Free Press of calling it a career in his hometown.

“This has been a passion for 40 years. Something I started when I was 12 (doing minor hockey games in St. James). Knowing that’s the last time I’m going to be out there doing that, having people there celebrating with me and being able to share that with them… I think that last step off the ice is going to be a very slow step. It’s going to be a very special night, for sure.”

He wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Galloway’s professional debut took place at the old Winnipeg Arena in 1996 when the Manitoba Moose, then of the IHL, began play after Jets 1.0 had departed for the desert.

His first NHL game was 22 years ago in the same venue, an exhibition contest between the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks. He worked the first Jets 2.0 game at Canada Life Centre in 2011. He worked his 1,000th NHL game in February 2018 when the Jets hosted the St. Louis Blues. Now, a season-long farewell tour comes to a fitting end.

“It’s been incredibly humbling the last couple months when players and coaches find out that I’m leaving the business and retiring,” said Galloway, whose highlights include working an All-Star game (2019 in San Jose) and four outdoor games (2014 Stadium Series at Yankee Stadium, 2016 Stadium Series in Minneapolis, 2016 Heritage Classic in Winnipeg, 2022 Winter Classic in Minneapolis).

“And it’s been incredibly humbling to hear some of the comments and respect that people have shown me. We don’t have the ability to have those relationships with players and coaches, you know, sort of away from the game. But there’s definitely a relationship which forms on the ice. And there’s so many good people in this game. It’s definitely the people I’m going to miss the most.”

That respect has been on display in recent games, with teams lining up to shake his hand after the final buzzer to wish him well.

Galloway’s heart remains willing, but “my knees are telling me otherwise.” The big-league game is faster than ever, and the wear-and-tear of working more than 1,400 NHL games is starting to take a toll. He began this season knowing it would be his last and has made sure to stop and smell the proverbial roses along the way.

“I’ve been able to say farewell to people that I’ve got to meet over the years in different cities,” he said, noting that ranges from rink attendants and off-ice staff to hotel clerks, friendly faces who works at the airports he frequents and everything in between.

“When you live out of a suitcase, it’s nice to have those connections.”

One of those he singles out is Jets co-owner and chairman Mark Chipman, whose passion to keep pro hockey going in Winnipeg opened the door for him to pursue a dream he’d developed to don a black-and-white jersey for a living.

“I was probably the only guy that was happy in Winnipeg, or reaped the benefit in Winnipeg, the year the Jets left,” said Galloway.

“That was definitely my big break and I owe a lot to Mr. Chipman for bringing that team in. Had the Moose not come in, I think I would have been another guy who’s lost in the cracks unfortunately.”

For as many pro hockey players as this province produces, the same can’t be said for officials. Galloway’s retirement leaves just one local lad, linesman Justin Johnson, in the NHL. Winnipegger Vaughan Rody retired in 2022 after 22 seasons.

“It’s nice to have somebody carrying the flag now going forwards from Manitoba, and hopefully that will motivate and inspire the next guys coming up,” said Galloway.

To that extent, he’s planning to take on a more active role with Hockey Manitoba and the Manitoba Junior Hockey League post-retirement, with the goal of trying to recruit and develop high-level officials.

“When it comes to the country, Manitoba is sort of on an island by itself. We’re in that middle ground between the West and the East. And with just one team now in the Western Hockey League (Brandon Wheat Kings), that makes it difficult to be able to work those higher-profile games and higher-level games where they might get the exposure to NHL scouts and supervisors,” said Galloway.

“Having the Moose has been fantastic. It’s opening up a lot of opportunities for some young officials to get the chance to work pro hockey. So I think it’s just a matter of time. We have fantastic young linesmen working out of Winnipeg.”

Galloway is also leaving with the belief the sport itself is better than ever, something he’s had the privilege of seeing up close and personal.

“We have the best athletes in sport. The agility, the speed, the way they can handle the puck and see things. Just how quick the game is, even from when I started, just how much quicker it’s got, how much more skilled the players are. They are truly fantastic athletes physically,” he said.

“I’ve always said if I’m not a step ahead I’m two steps behind in a heartbeat. The players are staying the same age and I keep getting older.”

Technology has also been both a boon, and a thorn, for officials, with the ability to break every single call down into super slow motion at high-definition, complete with things such as offside challenges. Galloway laughs as he remembers reviewing some of his work when he first started by being handed a game tape on VHS.

“Now we’re watching offsides that are at whatever resolution and frames-per-second,” he chuckled. “When you look at grainy VHS tapes to HD cameras on the blue-line, it’s amazing how the technology has changed.”

Galloway’s immediate plans include a trip to Hawaii with his wife, Rhonda, and then hopefully a long, hot summer spent on the boat at their cabin in the Whiteshell.

“In 22 years I’ve spent over 10 years in a hotel. I’m looking forward to just kind of being planted,” he said. “Looking forward to being the first dock out in the spring and the last out in the fall.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg