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The National Hockey League recently promoted six officials to full-time NHL status beginning in the 2016-17 season: referees Jon McIsaac, Kendrick Nicholson, and Garrett Rank as well as linesmen Shandor Alphonso, Devin Berg, and Brandon Gawryletz.
Many are called, few are chosen. Congratulations to all of these young Canadian men as they embark on their new careers.
The congratulations are heartfelt. However, it concerns me that deserving American-born and European-born officials still have a very tough time getting hired, much less promoted. The percentage of Americans on the staff is still only about five percent; disproportionately low when you look at how much the percentage of American players has grown over the years. Many Canadian officials live in the US but are not American born or citizens.
Again, I would never diminish the efforts nor the success that these young men have achieved to date, where they were born is of no consequence when you want to assign the "BEST" Officials for an NHL game. However, I simultaneously note that the NHL game is coached and managed by many people of all origins in the NHL.
In my opinion, passports should not be necessary to staff a crew to officiate games. You assign people because they can skate and have a good feel for the game. It is interesting to note that the management of the NHL officiating once again has no American supervisors nor any Americans in their Officiating management.
The predominant hiring attitude nowadays is only a guess on my part, but subsequently, it appears that those who are hired to officiate games in the NHL STILL eem to be overwhelmingly Canadian.
I am a fan of officials in general and would like to see Officials Without Borders. I will use the "BEST" people I can find, regardless of passport. But then again, what do I know?
Some people wonder why I turned out as I have; sometimes a little belligerent, maybe a little crusty. It is because I was always fighting to get a spot, not willing to relinquish my spot even when ill or injured, leaving my spot on the ice when I felt that I could not continue at the level I was used to performing at.
I was leaving when I was told by many people that I could still go vs I should have gone. In 2003, I became the first American-born Referee to referee 1,000 NHL games; this in a league that was founded, I believe, in 1924. It took a long time for an American to get to that milestone, and it seems that little has changed. It's a pity. I am, however, proud to have that distinction of being the first American to reach the 1,000-game officiated milestone.
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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. He has been with the ECAC since 2007.