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With one exception, I refereed championship games in every league I officiated. I refereed during the 1987 Canada Cup Finals between Canada and the USSR -- widely considered the best hockey ever played, and without question the best I ever took part in on the ice. I refereed Calder Cup Finals in the American Hockey as well.
The one exception was the NHL. If not for the untimely death of John McCauley, there is a good chance that I eventually would have worked my way into the Stanley Cup rotation. I was prepared to earn it, and I was an up-and-comer among the officials in the league. When Bryan Lewis took over after McCauley's death, that dream died. I soon realized that it was never going to a meritocracy with that regime. It was made crystal clear to me that I'd get to officiate a Final on the 12th of Never. It was OK. I dealt with it.
Here I am at the conclusion of the 1990 Stanley Cup Final, standing behind Brian O'Neil after he presented the Cup to the Edmonton Oilers. Mark Messier (a former teammate of mine in the WHA) is lifting the Cup triumphantly. I look happy being in a suit instead of my ref sweater, do I not? (Side note: the gentleman with the ruddy cheeks standing behind Messier's right arm used to sit behind the penalty box at Boston Garden. He is in the video and pictures of the game I played for Quebec in my NHL playing debut on Thanksgiving 1979. He's the ultimate hockey version of Zelig; a devoted fan who accidentally photobombed many historic moments at The Garden).
At any rate, it has been my observation over the years that working the Finals is actually the easiest round to officiate. The stakes are so high that players cut out a lot of the nonsense that goes on the rest of the year. That doesn't mean there aren't tough, high-pressure calls to get right, of course.
All eight officials who are working this year's Stanley Cup Final between the Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks have been there before. The referees are Wes McCauley (working his fourth straight Final), Dan O'Halloran (ninth), Dan O'Rourke (third) and Kelly Sutherland (fourth). The linesmen are Derek Amell (fourth in the last five seasons), Brian Murphy (fifth), Jonny Murray (second) and Pierre Racicot (seventh). All of these men are fine officials and worthy of their selections. My congratulations go out to all. O'Halloran, O'Rourke, Amell and Murray (with McCauley and Racicot as the standbys) officiated Game One last night.
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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 the director of 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.