While the hockey world zeroes in on Connor McDavid and Matthew Tkachuk in a heavyweight Stanley Cup Final rematch, another name with deep Vancouver Island ties quietly made a little history of his own Wednesday night.
Trent Knorr – a Powell River product and former Victoria Cougars defenceman – stepped onto the biggest stage of his officiating career, working the lines in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers.
Now 39, Knorr’s debut came in front of a raucous crowd in Edmonton, where the Oilers took a 1-0 series lead with a 4-3 overtime win. And while most eyes were locked on the stars, those who’ve followed Knorr’s path through the ranks knew just how big the moment was.
Before he wore the stripes, he wore the Cougars crest.
From 2003 to 2006, Knorr racked up 103 points across 135 games in the VIJHL with Victoria, a blueliner with good hands and an even better hockey brain. When his playing days wrapped, he picked up the whistle and started climbing – one league, one game, one road trip at a time.
He rose through the VIJHL, BCHL, WHL and ECHL before getting the NHL call in 2013.
His first game came that November between Toronto and Minnesota.
Four years later, he got the playoff nod. And this year, after 73 regular season games – bringing his career total to 771 – and 40 playoff appearances, Knorr finally got the call to work the Cup Final.
He’s worked two outdoor games, the 2024 NHL All-Star Game in Toronto, and hundreds of nights in between, often far from the spotlight.
“From an early age it was obvious that Trent had an exceptional ability for officiating,” said Carl Poole, the VIJHL’s director of officiating and a former on-ice partner of Knorr’s. “And through our many road trips, it was obvious that he is an amazing person as well as an official. I’m extremely proud of his accomplishment and that he gets to share this moment with his wife and kids.”
Knorr now wears No. 74 – the same number worn for years by Victoria native Lonnie Cameron, who retired from the NHL in 2019.
But Wednesday night, the Island’s officiating community had their moment – front and centre on hockey’s biggest stage.
Game 2 goes Friday, June 6, as the Oilers look to build on their edge.
