At the time of the Miracle on Ice at the 1980 Olympics, there were about a dozen American-born players in the NHL. In the years since then, there has been a steady rise in the numbers and percentages of American players in the NHL.
By the start of the new millennium, the percentage of NHL players from the USA was about 15 percent. Today, it's about 25 percent.
The USA Hockey development program has grown exponentially over the years. Likewise, leagues such as the USHL have become viable sources for scouts to find NHL prospects.
The same growth process has taken place with the tremendous expansion of the pool of highly qualified American-born officials who are worthy of serious consideration for NHL employment. Unfortunately, the League demographics do not reflect this growth.
If you look at the demographics of current NHL officials, this is what you will find:
1. Nearly 90 percent of current NHL on-ice officials are Canadian. The rest are American. None are European. If you believe this is strictly merit-based, you also would have to accept the notion that, in order to be competent to officiate in the NHL, you must born on the North American side of the Atlantic Ocean and also hail from north of the St. Lawrence.
2. There are no American-born officiating supervisors in the NHL. There are, however, some Canadian-born supervisors with no NHL on-ice officiating experience. Additionally, NHL officiating does not routinely give alumni of the NHLOA the first cracks at supervisor jobs. How about Francophone supervisors? I don't know if there are any.
3. In the entire history of the NHL, there have only been four American referees given the honor of working at least one game in the Stanley Cup Finals. Here's the rundown:
My grandfather, Bill Stewart, and Bill Chadwick (the first American referee to be inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame) officiated in the Stanley Cup Finals long before the league expanded in 1967. In the post-Original Six era, there have only been two American referees to get this honor.
In 2009, Dennis LaRue worked in Games 1, 3, and 5 of the Finals. Chris Rooney has worked each of the two most recent Finals.
I wrote this in Monday's blog about the NHL-dominated selection of Olympic officials and the same thing applies to the NHL's internal policies about hiring officials and issuing playoff assignments: from my observations, it has more do with where you're from and who you know than your actual officiating abilities.
I will also reiterate, as I did the other day, that I am not casting aspersions on any particular officials currently working in the NHL. I'll hasten to add that, without the Canadian-born mentors and colleagues who became as close to me as family members, I would not have had a career as an NHL referee after my playing days were over. One of my grandmothers hailed from Nova Scotia, and I have cousins in Cape Breton.
I don't care about borders and I am most certainly not anti-Canadian. That's not the point here. The point I'm making is that the referee and linesmen hiring and assignment practices in the NHL are unfair, and it disturbs me that there are many qualified officials from the U.S. who will never get the same chance I got.
The main reason why I got hired by the NHL in the first place was to fill a quota. There were no American referees in the League at the time. Kevin Collins, Gord Broseker and Dan Schachte were the only American linesmen.The League caught heat from the U.S. State Department about the lack of Americans they employed, and so I was handpicked for the opportunity.
I worked games in many different leagues before I made it the NHL as a referee. I was assigned to the Ontario Hockey League. I worked in the Western Hockey League; where I ran into my share of nationality issues. I worked in the ECAC. I worked in the AHL. Wherever I was sent, I went.
One year in the NHL training program, I worked 37 games in 39 nights in 4 different Leagues and a total of 144 games all across the US and Canada. John McCauley said, "I am going to make you a referee or kill you with the grind, we'll see if you can take it."
When I was first promoted to the NHL, McCauley assigned me to work a lot of games involving the western Canadian teams.
I told John, "I'm happy to go wherever you want, but why western Canada?"
"They didn't like you out there in junior hockey, so let's see what they think of you in the NHL," he said.
That was John. He was showing those who tried to put obstacles in my path that he was standing behind me. He was the type of supervisor whom you never wanted to disappoint.
When I used to travel to work games in Canada, I was sometimes harassed by customs agents who didn't believe I was actually an NHL referee. I recall one in particular who told me, "I don't know if we can let you in."
I said, "Fine by me. I'm here because I got assigned here, and I'll get paid either way. But there's a game tonight where they'll be expecting a referee to show up. How's your skating?"
When the staff grew to 34, American referees Mark Faucette and LaRue were also added. Later, Ian Walsh and Rooney were hired.
In my own case, I was extremely fortunate. I had people like John McCauley and Scotty Morrison who believed in me and taught me how to be a referee in the NHL.
It seems that support system no longer exists. The people in charge of hiring and supervision do not appear to do things with the good of the game in mind, and it seems like nationality and/or personal connections are prioritized above skill.
It frustrates me. I have supervised ECAC officials -- and have seen others in other collegiate divisions -- who are eminently qualified to work in the NHL: excellent skaters, strong rulebook knowledge, good feel for the game, solid positioning and consistent hustle, impeccable work ethic, you name it. Ditto some of the top officials in Europe.
Will they ever get a sniff at being hired by the NHL? Nope. The Titanic will make it to New York before they get hired. In my opinion, I believe the reason is that they're not Canadian and they're not personally connected to the decision makers.
It's shame: a shame for these guys, a shame for the NHL, and a shame for the game as a whole. People talk about wanting to improve the pool of officials in the NHL and elsewhere. I'm all for it.
To do that, we need to forget about where the official comes from and focus only on whether he can do the job. Forget about nationality. Forget about friends and family ties. Forget whether his political views match his supervisors'. Forget all of that nonsense. Focus only on whether he can do the job at the NHL level.
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Recent Blogs by Paul Stewart
Crisp Thoughts
Olympic Officials: Jeux San Frontieres?
Thornton Went After the Wrong Guy
Stevie Why?
Careful With That Stick, Eugene
Hockey Barns and Broken Zambonis
Stick Slashes, Butterfingers and Gordie Tattoos
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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 only 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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