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Even before the first time I pulled on the striped shirt in a professional capacity, I admired the hard, thankless work that officials in all sports perform. It's a noble pursuit.
My late grandfather and father were referees, so even when I was a pro player, I had more respect and appreciation than many of my peers for the job that officials do. In later life, I am proud that my son doubles as an official when he's not playing. It actually helps him to be a better player.
In hockey, good officials have to be many different things. Let me enumerate:
1) Nowadays, they need to be good athletes and top-notch skaters in outstanding physical condition. The top professional officials are comparable -- and, in some cases, even superior -- skaters to most NHL players. They need stamina and endurance. I know some still-active officials who are in superior physical condition to many NHL players.
2) They need coachability. In an upcoming blog, I am going to discuss how the ever-lamented "need for more consistency" starts with coaching. Absolute consistency is impossible to attain but that doesn't mean we shouldn't strive to improve it. As supervisors and trainers, we need to do a better job of coaching our officials properly. This starts with coaching positioning and setting forth clear objectives and directives. We also need to be hiring people who are receptive to such coaching. I'd rather hire the raw, athletic guy who knows he needs to be taught how to be an official than someone who is somewhat more advanced right now but resists coaching. The first guy will end up the better official in the long run, if he's not rushed before he's ready.
2) They need to have hockey sense and understand game flow. This is a big part of the art of officiating, and part of the reason why I personally want to see more young players also train as officials. Feel for the temperature of the game and an innate understanding of the game situation and what the teams are trying to accomplish are all things that should be in any good official's skillset.
3) They need an understanding of psychology. There's a time to talk and a time not to talk. Some players and coaches can be spoken to differently than others. Make a mistake? Own up to it and then get the next call right, rather than issuing a makeup call. In past blogs, I have discussed both accountability and acceptability. A good official has to grasp the need for these traits and why they are psychologically vital to commanding respect.
4) They need mental toughness. Officials take a lot of abuse, and the officiating team is outnumbered on all sides. Additionally, working through a variety of injuries is every bit as much a part of the job for officials as it is for players. The travel is tougher for officials than for players (which is why many NHL officials try to strategically live in driving distance from as many venues as possible, so as to reduce the "every game is an away game" facet of the job).
5) They need to know the rules. You can't fake it, and there is no excuse for not knowing the situational options spelled out under the league rules. One thing that rarely gets mentioned, though, is the fact that there are many coaches and players even at the professional level that really don't know the rulebook all that well. They (and the media) are quick to say "How on earth did he make that call?" when the answer is easily found in the rulebook.
Confession is vital for the soul, so let me step into the literary confessional for a moment.
I admit there were a few times in my officiating career, especially when I was young, where I ignored new league rules that I disliked. A good example is the automatic delay of game penalty for a goalie accidentally shooting the puck over the glass.
I was a young referee at the time the goalie-related delay rule was implemented. I hated the rule from day one. I hated it as someone who had played the game. I hated it as someone with an old-school hockey mentality about hating to "gift wrap" a game on a ticky tack call with the outcome in in doubt.
Shortly after the implementation of the new rule, I was working an AHL game in Halifax along with linesmen Charlie Banfield and Al Stone. My supervisor, Lou Maschio, was also in the building that night.
The home team, the Nova Scotia Oilers, were coached by a guy named Larry Kish, a slick Persian bazaar salesman of a guy who also happened to be my own coach during the season I first broke into pro hockey with the Binghamton Dusters. The team's star player was high-scoring center Bruce Boudreau, now the coach of the Anaheim Ducks.
With the score tied in the game, the opposing team's goalie shot he puck over the glass. It was accidental, but clear cut. Here is the cleaned up version of the conversation that followed.
"Stewy!" Boudreau shouted in that distinctive voice of his. "That's a penalty! That's a penalty!"
"Penalty!" Kish yelled from the bench.
"Nope," I said. "Faceoff right circle."
Boudreau and Kish conferred with one another.
"Stewy won't call it," Boudreau said.
"What do you mean he won't he call it?!" Kish demanded. "Go tell that guy that it's a new rule and he HAS to call it."
The next day, there was a photo in the newspaper of Boudreau coming to talk to me. He had an incredulous, almost crazed look in his eye, and I looked like I had just broken the good news to him.
The expletives flew. Boudreau then tried one last time to convince me.
"Stewy, c'mon. You don't have any choice here. You have to call it!" he said.
"Not calling it," I said. "Faceoff right circle."
Nowadays, Boudreau and I can look back at this incident and laugh about it. He recounted the tale a few years ago at his AHL Hall of Fame induction in Worcester.
In retrospect, I had no right not to make the non-call. I was just young, headstrong and
had a strong sense of, shall I say, artistic license, to go along with my old-school hockey beliefs. I am man enough to say I made the wrong decision here, because it was my job to enforce the rulebook and not toss out the ones I thought were bad rules.
I matured and evolved as I gained experience. Nowadays, I would not look favorably on a referee who willfully decided to ignore an infraction that he saw and knew was a penalty.
Why I am saying all of this? This coming August, the NHL is holding an officiating combine in Buffalo, called the Exposure Combine. They will invite upwards of 60 prospects to the camp with an eye on expanding its pool of potential hirings. Supposedly, the list of invitees will consist of prospects from around the word. That includes the U.S. collegiate ranks and Europe.
I applaud this step. In past blogs, I have discussed the scarcity of opportunities for non-Canadian officials and the lack of non-Canadian supervisors. I hope deep in my heart that the NHL is serious about identifying the best officiating prospects regardless of their nationality and connections (or lack thereof) within the League.
I would hope that when hiring decisions are made, the powers-that-be are sincerely looking for those who exemplify the traits I spelled out in this blog. Beyond that, I hope the NHL understands that these prospects will need genuine guidance and support to be put into position to succeed. I will touch on that subject in a few days.
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Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.
Today, Stewart is an officiating and league discipline consultant for the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and serves as director of hockey officiating for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).
The longtime referee heads Officiating by Stewart, a consulting, training and evaluation service for officials. Stewart also maintains a busy schedule as a public speaker, fund raiser and master-of-ceremonies for a host of private, corporate and public events. As a non-hockey venture, he is the owner of Lest We Forget.
Stewart is currently working with a co-author on an autobiography.