Follow Paul on Twitter: @paulstewart22
The late Fred Shero loved this inspirational saying: "Avoiding criticism is easy. Just say nothing, do nothing, be nothing."
The saying strikes close to my own heart, too. People who follow their dreams and fight for what they believe in open themselves up to criticism; especially from the coat-holders who stand on the sidelines. There have been times in my life where I have perhaps had more guts than brains but the bottom line is that I have made my dreams into realities.
Criticism goes with the turf. I accept that. Usually, I let it roll right off my back. When something merits a response, I respond. My longevity in this game tells me that I must be doing something right.
When I took over in 2007 as the director of hockey officiating for the ECAC, the conference had gone through a revolving door of officiating directors in the previous seven years. I have been there ever since, and I am proud of what we've accomplished.
First and foremost, credit goes to the dedicated and hard-working group of professionals who serve the game on the ice as officials. Credit is also due to our Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, our 12 Colleges, the coaches, the ADs and our Supervisors for working alongside us to get officiating to a higher level of talent and respect.
It is always a work in progress. Regardless of sport, people on the periphery are real fast to point out anything that goes wrong with officiating -- or even, through their lack of rulebook knowledge and general ignorance of what is involved in officiating, when a controversial but correct call is made -- but they seldom give praise.
To me, though, the proof is in the pudding (along with the rice and cinnamon). Want the facts? On the road to the 2014 Frozen Four, two ECAC crews worked regional finals in the Boston College vs Lowell and Minnesota vs St. Cloud State games. We also had a crew at the Women's Frozen Four that Clarkson won.
I could not be prouder of our ECAC officials who earned the right to work such important games. Likewise, I am seeing steady improvements with the crews I review and work with in Russia. Their positioning and management of game flow has improved at an encouraging rate. This tells me that perhaps I may know a little about what I am doing as a director, supervisor and trainer of officials.
In many cases, issues that laypeople blame on on-ice officials being "lousy" or "inconsistent" have a lot more to do with the coaching and direction they receive. Just as with players, absolute consistency is impossible to attain in officiating teams. We're all human. That doesn't mean we should give up on striving for continual improvement.
Those who have read previous blogs I've written about the NHL may have noticed that I frequently take aim at things such as how its officials are coached and supervised. I take issue with the people put in charge of running officiating. I cringe at what a mess the NHL Rulebook is and the way the powers-that-be have reacted a reactive document with protocols that they ignore much of the time.
Most of all, I take issue with the way the NHL puts its officials in position to fail. The reason why I take frequent shots at people like Colin Campbell and Bryan Lewis is that they never had the betterment of the game and the improvement of the officials at heart. They cared primarily about their own ability to wield power and very little about team-building and the art of constructive criticism.
One thing I do NOT do -- and never will -- is criticize specific on-ice officials in my writing. I know first-hand how tough it is out there, and I also know a lot more than the average player, coach or fan, what actually goes on with officials on-ice and off-ice. Trust me when I tell you that you should start at the top when you are looking for reasons for inconsistency.
Want some specifics? OK, here goes.
1) To this very day, the NHL has never communicated to its officials any clear instructions, objectives or standards for working in a two referee, two linesman system. From day one, the on-ice personnel has had to figure it out on its own.
2) As I have said many times in the past and will say again, positioning sells calls. The NHL's coaching of officials on their positioning -- especially for plays around the net -- is lackluster at best and sometimes downright wrong.
3) People say all the time "Why aren't NHL officials held accountable?" Well, the truth of the matter is that they are reviewed throughout the season by supervisors and it is hardly uncommon for officials to catch verbal flak or get fined for mistakes. That's OK if merited, but where is the part about instructing the officials on how to do things better the next time? There's the punishment but no real method of coaching for improvement. For example, does the official need work on his skating? Then make constructive suggestions.
4) Honors such as playoff assignments and Olympic selections are extremely political and quite often based more on who one's friends or relatives are among the assignors than actual performance. Yes, this is very much like the way things go "in the real working world." Doesn't make it right.
Do you want to know another real-life truth about coaching officials? The truth is that, just as with players, not every official is going to be created equal. There will always be a select group of stars and plenty of average ones. The average officials, through their work ethic and coachability, can still be taught how to be better. Crews can be taught to be in sync with their communication and positioning. The differences may seem subtle, but they contribute over time to more consistent and better officiated games.
As for individual officials that are simply not physically capable of doing the job, lack work ethic or have repeatedly demonstrated that they lack basic hockey sense, these are the ones who must be identified for removal.
The saddest part of my job is telling someone who has the desire and work ethic but not the athletic ability -- either through age and attrition or unfortunate luck of the draw in their genetics -- that they won't make it. It's the ones who have the physical ability but lack of willingness to acquire knowledge and work at their craft that disappoint me.
There are many things in life that did not come naturally to me. The two things I never lacked were toughness and work ethic. Those were the keys to my longevity in this game.
As a player, I made it to the WHA and the NHL. As an active referee, I lasted 1,010 games before my retirement. In both cases, I left by my free will.
My pro playing career ended for personal reasons. After not being retained by the Quebec Nordiques following the 1979-80 season, I had a contract offer from the Chicago Blackhawks and training camp invitation from the Buffalo Sabres (with whom I had a better shot at an NHL roster spot out of camp than with Chicago). However, at the time, I was trying to save my failing first marriage. Reluctantly, I passed on the opportunity to try and continue my NHL playing career.
In my "second NHL career" as an active referee, I retired in 2003 after officiating 1,010 games. My body just could not take the pounding anymore.
In both cases, I knew when it was time to go and was able to do so on my own terms. That is something that not many people get to say in life.
*********
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.