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It's not at all uncommon for sports blooper shows and internet humor sites to show heavy duty collisions, including ones involving officials and players. One does not have to search very hard to find a scene like this:



My reaction is that, while accidents can happen, many of these sorts of collisions are preventable and often stem from bad coaching. There are three basic rules:

1. Put safety first. There is no extra hazard pay for getting steamrolled and dangerous situations arise -- for both the official and the player -- when evasive action is needed but not taken.

2. Trust your partners. If an official has to take preventative action and escape a potential collision, he should have faith that his officiating teammates will come up to cover the call.

3. It's not "your" line, it's part of the playing surface. The line belongs to the owners of the rink and perhaps the painter who painted it. Officials need to understand that those things on the bottom of their feet are skates. Use them to skate to where you can see the play and be safe.

Our prime directive as officials is to get the call right. An official sitting on his backside after standing his ground too long is not helping the game. However, I don't blame the officials themselves in most cases, because they are only doing what is misguidedly expected of them by their bosses.

You know who I fault for the fact that these collisions are not as rare as they should be? I blame being handcuffed by protocols created by bosses who have either never officiated at all or have not done so at a high level. These folks, many of whom do not understand the psychology of officiating and may never have had the physical fitness to relate to the athleticism of most modern officials, do not understand that the aforementioned rules one and two are necessary parts of good officiating.

I have said this before and will say it again. Having top-notch officiating teammates can make a good official look great. I was incredibly lucky to get to work with some fantastic teammates such as Kevin Collins, Pat Dapuzzo, Gerard Gauthier and Marty Demers. They made the job of being a lineman look effortless because they were so good at it, and helped not just myself but every referee they worked with to do our jobs far more effectively than we ever could have on our own.

Everything that I teach and profess in all the Leagues I administer or work in has been learned from others who generously shared of their knowledge and abilities; never for personal gain, but strictly for the good of the game and the advancement of our profession. I get frustrated by the lack of voice bonafide NHL officials are given in steering our own profession in today's game.

Side note: Being privileged to be around so savvy officials is why I also get so worked up about the fact that the knowledge and skills of experienced officials remains one of our sport's most under-utilized resources. These aren't just good officials, they are good hockey people in general.

In all the years the NHL has been around, there have only been five officials who have gone on to work for NHL clubs. I am excluding my stint working with the Boston Bruins and the other work I've done since retiring as an active referee.

My grandfather, Bill Stewart, went from NHL referee to Stanley Cup winning coach of the Chicago Blackhawks and then back to refereeing. King Clancy and, many years later, Pat Dapuzzo were with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Actually, Dapper still scouts for the Leafs. Denis Morel and Neil Armstrong scouted for the Montreal Canadiens.

Considering the NHL has been around for nearly a century, that's not a lot of people who have been given the chance to apply their knowledge to other aspects of the game. Many clubs missed out on a lot of hockey knowledge by dismissing what someone who was "just an official" might have to offer.

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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. 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.

In addition to his blogs for HockeyBuzz every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, Stewart writes a column every Wednesday for the Huffington Post.