Joe Kryczka

Joseph Julius Kryczka QC (/ˈkrɪskɑː/; June 4, 1935 – January 11, 1991) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator, coach and referee, and had a legal career as a lawyer and judge, where he was commonly known as "Justice Joe". He graduated from the University of Alberta, and played hockey with the Golden Bears. He practiced law in Calgary for more than 20 years, beginning in 1959 as a lawyer, becoming a judge, and was eventually elevated to a justice on the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta.

His hockey administration career included tenures as president of the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association from 1967 to 1969, and later the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association from 1971 to 1973, and resolving disagreements in Canadian hockey. When the Western Canada Hockey League broke away from the governing body, Kryczka was able to reunite the league with the rest of Canada, which maintained the continuity of the threatened Memorial Cup. He brought Alberta hockey back under the national umbrella when it resigned, and later dealt with the World Hockey Association when it raided rosters of Canadian junior teams without compensation. Kryczka was the lead negotiator in securing the agreement for Canada to play the Soviet Union at the 1972 Summit Series. His negotiating skills went unrecognized at the time, and his contributions were overshadowed by Alan Eagleson.

Kryczka was later a director with the Calgary Cowboys, and played a key role with Calgary's successful bid for the 1988 Winter Olympics. He was inducted into both Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 1990, for his service to Canadian sports and ice hockey.

Joseph Julius Kryczka was born on June 4, 1935, in Coleman, Alberta. He grew up playing minor ice hockey until the juvenile age level in Coleman. He played on the 1949–50 midget team which won the Alberta championship, and was captain of the juvenile team in the 1951–52 season. He attended Coleman High School, and received a bursary from the Elks of Canada for having the highest marks in grade nine. He graduated with honours in 1953 as the class valedictorian.

Kryczka enrolled at University of Alberta in 1953, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1957. He was active in student life, serving as president of both the political science and law clubs, and was secretary of the student council. He played junior baseball for his Coleman team in summers. He played three seasons of ice hockey as a defenceman with the Golden Bears, and was teammates with his brother Adam in 1955. He won three Dr. W. G. Hardy Trophy titles as a Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union champion in 1954, 1955 and 1956. He earned two varsity letters in university, but a shoulder injury ended his playing career. He completed his law degree in 1958 at the University of Alberta. The university awarded him a gold ring for scholastic achievements and the Lorne Calhoun Memorial Award for his contributions to student activities.

Kryczka became an articled clerk in Calgary under future Court of Appeal of Alberta justice David Clifton Prowse, and was called to the bar in 1959. He was originally associated with the law firm of Peter Lougheed in the early 1960s, and then became a partner of Mason and Kryczka. He later served as vice-president of the Alberta Young Liberal Association in 1966, and continued to practice law in Calgary until 1980.

Kryczka began volunteering as community hockey coach in 1959, and also refereed in various leagues. He was elected to the executive committee of the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association (AAHA) in 1963, and served as the Calgary Booster Club president from 1964 to 1965. He was elected second vice-president of the AAHA in September 1966, and became its president in October 1967.

Kryczka's presidency of the AAHA coincided with the formation of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), which had teams in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Various disputes arose with the WCHL, because it was outside of the jurisdiction of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA), the governing body for the AAHA. In February 1969, the CAHA and Kryczka as president of the AAHA, were named in a lawsuit by the WCHL and its governing body, the Canadian Hockey Association. The WCHL sought development money for its players drafted by the National Hockey League (NHL), as per the draft agreement between the NHL and the CAHA, but the CAHA refused to distribute money to a league it did not sanction. Later that month, Kryczka gave an ultimatum to the Alberta Hockey Referees Association, stating that the AAHA would only use referees which did not officiate in the WCHL. The decision threatened to end an agreement from October 1968, where referees in Alberta formed an independent organization to officiates games for both governing bodies. Later in March, Kryczka suspended two referees who still worked games in the WCHL.