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Now that I am no longer working on the inside at the pro or collegiate levels, I am able to focus my energies on the game's grassroot levels. As director of officiating and co-commissioner of ISL Prep hockey, I see our game's recruiting and retention crisis -- something that I have been sounding the alarm bell about for quite some time -- getting worse.

There have been games this season at the youth hockey level where we've been unable to find officials to work. Coaches have ended up donning the skates and serving as the officials. The process by which USA Hockey officials get certified can be daunting to some. For many others, the process by which our referees and linesmen gain valuable experience and move up the ladder is fraught with so much stress, that many would rather quit than continue.

At the grassroots level, hockey parents are absolutely out of control. It's not just the officials who take the abuse, but they get some of the worst of it. It has gotten to the point that even many certified officials who have not officially quit will nevertheless look for excuses to turn down offered assignments (which exist in abundance) because they feel the paycheck isn't worth the job stress.

"The rink is 100 miles from here? Too far," is a response that, once upon a time, no self-respecting official would have given but is now commonplace.

I've even had a case where I offered to put someone up in a hotel to ease the travel-related stress. The answer was still no. Scenes such as these take place around the country at the game's lower levels. This is what inevitably filters up, too.

Think things are bad now? What about when more games have to be officiated by coaches or other emergency substitutes? I'm sure the types of hockey parents who ruin the enjoyment of the game for others -- a small minority, but a destructive, obnoxious and seemingly omnipresent one -- will be very understanding.

Again, it's not ONLY the officials. We also lose a lot of young goaltenders because parents in the stands are merciless on them, and ruin their enjoyment of playing the game. Heaven forbid Mr. and Mrs. Doe's kid takes a minus-one on a goal the resident goaltending experts in the stands deem soft is going to keep little Johnny out of his (very statistically unlikely) NHL career. I've also talked to coaches who say they are tired of dealing with parents who either undermine their corrective instruction at one extreme or, at the other, are so harsh that the kid dreads coming to the rink.

Folks, this is not good for our sport, and not good for our kids. Gordie Howe himself went to his kids' youth games and the only questions he'd ask afterwards were "Did you do your best? Did you have fun?". If that was good enough for Mr. Hockey, it should be good enough for Mr. Doe.

In my next blog, I'm going to get more specific about some of the things that I believe could help us bring in more aspiring officials and keep more of the ones who are already doing it.

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A 2018 inductee into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, 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.

Visit Paul's official websites, YaWannaGo.com and Officiating by Stewart.