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Regular readers of my blog know that I have beaten the drum for many years for the National Hockey League to start getting with the times when it comes to the way they recruit new officials and to provide the proper support system for young officials to develop properly.
Specifically, I have long been a proponent for casting a much wider NHL recruiting net in hunting for promising officials not only from Canada but also from across the United States and Europe. I strong believe we need to get more hockey players to become interested in making the transition to officiating. Lastly, I have stated why I believe we need to learn from the Marcus Vinnerborg case to make sure that recruits are put in position to succeed rather than fail.
To be honest, I became pessimistic over the years of these things happening, even as the demands of the profession continued to rise but the recruiting methods did not keep up. Yesterday, I saw some signs of hope.
In case you missed it, Sportsnet published an article on how the NHL is slowly overhauling and upgrading its recruiting methods to be more of a global search for people wth the athleticism and moxie to potentially develop into good NHL officials.
The article touches upon each of the aforementioned issues. The NHL is starting to increase its focus on recruiting beyond Canada. They are trying to take more initiative in finding players interested in becoming officials. They are also trying to put a better support system in place, such as by having former KHL official Evgeny Romasko live in Hershey, PA and for recently retired longtime NHL referee Paul Devorski work one-on-one with him to help him get used to an official's life on and off the ice in North America (assistance that Vinnerborg did not receive).
I applaud the NHL for taking these steps in the right direction. They are baby steps climbing a huge mountain, perhaps, but it is progress nevertheless.
Now if we can do something about how the NHL coaches its officials to position themselves, clean up the Rule Book, give officials more of a seat at the table in protocols and rules that directly relate to their on-ice work and, last but not least, diversify the way the NHL selects and promotes officiating supervisors, we'd really be making progress. One hill at a time.
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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 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.