Mark Wheler

Born in North Battleford (Saskatchewan) but grew up in Battleford, Wheler is the youngest of seven kids. He was introduced to officiating by his brother Ken, now an Officiating Manager with the NHL, who refereed in the Junior leagues and was an NHL trainee. At the age of 13 he decided to attempt to follow in his brother’s footsteps and began officiating minor hockey in Battleford. He joined the old Saskatchewan Junior League, which had a team in North Battleford, at 16 as a linesman. After graduating High School, he moved to Saskatoon to take his officiating career to the next level where he joined the WHL in the Canadian Hockey League. While working the WHL he also graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Commerce degree (Marketing Major) and worked in sales at Molson Brewery. He was selected to work the 1989 (Saskatoon) and 1992 (Seattle) Memorial Cup of the Canadian Hockey League. He was part of the crew selected to work the 1992 Memorial Cup Final game along with NHL referee Brad Watson and NHL linesman Lonnie Cameron. In the summer of 1992, the National Hockey League saw two expansion teams joining the league (Ottawa & Tampa Bay). More teams meant a need for more officials and the he received the call from the NHL that summer. Wheler worked his first NHL Regular Season game in Calgary on October 10th, 1992 when the Toronto Maple Leafs were in town to play the Flames. His first playoff game came on May 9th, 1995 when the Dallas Stars visited the Detroit Red Wings at the Joe Louis Arena. Wheler was selected three times to work the prestigious Stanley Cup Final. His first final was 2001 between the Colorado Avalanche and the New Jersey Devils, then in 2003 between the Anaheim Ducks and the New Jersey Devils. He was also selected to work the following year’s (2004) final between the Calgary Flames and the Tampa Bay Lightning where he earned the ultimate reward by being assigned to work a Stanley Cup Final Game 7. He worked the 2011 Heritage Classic held in Calgary where the Montreal Canadiens visited the Flames at McMahon Stadium. He was joined on the ice by referees Mike Leggo and Brad Meier while his partner on the lines was Mike Cvik. He was also assigned to work the 2017 Winter Classic where the Chicago Blackhawks visited the St. Louis Blues at Busch Stadium in St.Louis. The officiating crew also included referees Brad Watson and Tim Peel and linesman Darren Gibbs. Wheler was a member of the officiating staff that went to Russia to work the 2014 Sochi Olympics. The officiating team included fourteen referees and fourteen linesmen, where seven referees and six linesmen (including himself) were from the National Hockey League (NHL Referees: Dave Jackson, Mike Leggo, Brad Meier, Tim Peel, Kevin Pollock, Kelly Sutherland and Ian Walsh. NHL Linesmen: Derek Amell, Lonnie Cameron, Greg Devorski, Brad Kovachik, Andy McElman and Mark Wheler). On February 20th 2015, linesman Mark Wheler joined a very select group of NHL officials when he worked his 1,500th NHL Regular Season Game in Calgary. The Anaheim Ducks were the visiting team that night. Wheler hand picked the officiating crew for his milestone game. He selected the two officials with whom he worked the 1992 Seattle CHL Memorial Cup Final 23 years earlier; referee Brad Watson and linesman Lonnie Cameron, along with long time friend referee Brad Meier.