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Today's blog comes to you from Naples, Florida. As we meet at the College Coaches' Convention in Naples, the important work is crafting the rules and the procedures to help the players that these college coach's recruit show their best stuff. This "work" is wedged into a lot of meetings, a round of golf and some important beach time. After sitting in all those cars through snow and ice, cold rinks, hunkered over my computer assigning all of the games in five leagues, I think I earned a break for a couple days.
It is important to understand that as much as we can work on the college game, what the NHL game does influences all levels of Hockey. Sitting in a soft chair, watching what the NHL is displaying is fun at times. However, as I wrote in yesterday's blog, there are items that need attention. I can guarantee that these rules will continue to stick out like a sore thumb in the playoffs, starting with goaltender interference (Rule 69) -- the single most convoluted, counterintuitive and contradictory set of directives in the Rule Book -- and filtering right on down to coaches' challenges for splitting-hairs offside/onside plays that happened 10 or 20 seconds earlier and to various other matters.
Did you really like it when a hard fought game needed to be decided by a ticky-tack penalty; a housekeeping matter such as a borderline too many men on the ice infraction, an automatic penalty for shooting the puck over the glass, or a hand on the puck in the faceoff circle?
I'll deal with rules that need fixing in upcoming blogs. I will switch back to hockey mode later. After I hit a bucket of balls at the driving range, it will be time to take the jump in the ocean that many critics have suggested I take.
Put a shrimp on the barbie, pass the sun block......FORE!
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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 serves as director of hockey officiating for the ECAC.
Blogger •Former NHL Referee • 
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