Follow Paul on Twitter: @paulstewart22
How to tell when someone has been around the rink since birth as the child of a hockey official: Back when one of my sons was starting school, the teacher took attendance and introduced the kids to each other by going around the room and announcing each of the kids by their full name. In response, the children raised their hands and said "here!"
Well, except for my boy. When he heard his name, he automatically responded, "sucks!"
It all comes down to this: the second favorite sport for all the experts is second guessing. It's funny and then not so funny. People sit there and blame the officials when opposing players go to the net. They blame the officials when players run opposing players into the end boards. They blame the refs when the game gets heated because an opposing player does something that is retaliatory. However, if the referees put a lid on everything, the experts blame the refs for calling ticky-tack penalties and over-controlling the game. If the officials do not call penalties, the experts blame the refs for swallowing the whistle.
Just like that story about Goldilocks and the Three Bears, everyone has their opinion. Usually, that opinion depends on what their favorite team's outcome is: richly opinionated and richly biased.
Officials get that they "suck". It's part of the territory of a somehow loving job where you are damned if you do and damned if you don't. Right or wrong, we suck. We're supposed to "unnoticeable", but that largely depends on how the game play unfolds. Most nights, there are going to be tough calls to make -- calls that are going to be unpopular on one side or the other -- and it impossible to be perfect.
Here's a crazy thought: When do we start blaming the players for lack of discipline? For example, when Paul Stewart the player took an extra shot at someone after the whistle and got a roughing penalty, was that the ref's fault or was it my fault?
When do we blame coaches for lack of coaching? They all talk about taking away ice time for lack of discipline. With many coaches, however, it is applied selectively. For many players, there is no consequence. It's just easier to blame the refs.
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When do we paint all general managers, scouts and recruiters with the same brush of "collective incompetence" because they all have some expensive misses along the way in the players they bring in to play for their teams? Even with the very best, their jobs are an inexact science. Everyone makes some bad calls, and a few are real whoppers.
My point here is that a lot of people suffer from Cliff Clavin syndrome: delusional self-professed experts who have never played, coached, or especially officiated a damn thing in their lives. Hockey is a sport of mistakes and imperfections, and by overcoming these human foibles through teamwork.
Spring is the time for playoffs and for heroic deeds on the ice. It's also the peak season for hacking on the officials. Much like the salmon swimming upstream, it's the annual rite of the season.
That's just the way it is. Drop the puck.
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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 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).
The longtime referee heads Officiating by Stewart, a consulting, training and evaluation service for officials, while also maintaining 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.
Blogger •Former NHL Referee • 
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