Every once awhile, someone will post a comment on my blog's message board or send me an anonymous PM along the lines of "you always make excuses for the refs." Usually I ignore it -- in all facets of life, many people are going to hear what they want to hear in any message -- but I admit it irks me sometimes.
No one holds officials to a higher standard than I do. In my blogs, I try to explain why common mistakes happen, not give a free pass for making them. I talk about the keys to doing this tough and thankless job successfully. I give an honest inside look at the politics and bureaucracy within the sport -- where officials have no seat at the table even for things that fall directly within their domain -- and pull no punches about the fact that I think the NHL Rule Book needs to fixed.
One thing I will NOT do is throw a fellow official under the bus by answering questions about naming names of which currently active officials whose work I find subpar. I may discuss a specific play as a teaching moment -- and it can just as easily involve an official whose work is usually stellar as anyone else. I aspire to teach, not embarrass.
Just as with players, not every official is going to be a star in his craft. There are too many games going on in the various leagues for every game to have the cream of the crop officiating it. Thus, we strive to improve the state of the craft as a whole; deepening the pool of potential recruits, putting a heavy emphasis on training, teaching and continual improvement and weeding out the ones who should not be on the ice at all.
Even with that latter group of officials whom I think should be removed, you will never see me name names whether it's on HockeyBuzz or if we meet each other face to face. A perceptive person can read between the lines, anyway.
Being a good official starts from within. You have to love what you do. You have to take pride in your work. You have to strive for constant improvement and welcome constructive feedback.
It should also go without saying that you should keep yourself in good physical condition and hustle at all times on the ice. If you can't do those things, you are cheating the game. You are cheating the players, compromising the safety of everyone on the ice (yourself included) and embarrassing yourself. You don't belong on the ice and, if I am your assignor, I am going to remove you. Simple as that.
I had to do just that earlier this year. A referee let himself get so out of shape that he could no longer bend down and pick up the puck. He couldn't keep up with the play at all. Both teams, the spectators and the scouts in the stands were rightfully angry. I could not let it proceed, so I removed him at intermission, gave him his pay and told him he would never work for me again.
I wish more league assignors would have the stones to do this.
A year ago, I watched two lazy, overweight referees "work" my son's game at a multi-sheet arena off the highway near Worcester. There was an icing.
One overweight ref took a warmed puck out of his pocket, nonchalantly threw it down at the next faceoff, and waved to the other overweight ref not to bother to skate all the way down into position. The next game, for a good two minutes, the R2 (referee stationed up high) never moved five feet and leaned on the boards.
As a third-generation official who has dedicated my life to this profession, I was appalled.
Stuff like this is why I am so disgusted with some officiating. As a professional director, supervisor and trainer of officials, I am insistent on my people being in shape, skating to good sight lines and being decisive on calls. If you can't -- or won't -- do those simple things, find something else to do.
Officiating is not an ATM machine. You don't just get to put on your skates, stand around for an hour and then grab $55 bucks or whatever the league pay. You had better respect yourself and the game.
Hey, USA Hockey. Hey. local assignor. Smarten up and hold your people accountable.
Hey, concerned hockey parents. You say you don't like the reffing -- even apart from being an official, as a parent, I didn't like what I saw -- so handle it properly. I went through the process and made my concerns known through the proper channels. It fell on deaf ears but at least I tried.
For a variety of reasons, we have trouble recruiting people to become officials. I know the reasons all too well. But for those who don the striped shirt, you have to uphold your end of the bargain, too.
If you, the reader, want to perceive my viewpoint as one of "making excuses" for officials, that's your prerogative. You'll be 100 percent wrong, but you're entitled to your perceptions.
************************************************************************ 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 serves as director of hockey officiating for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) at both the Division 1 and Division 3 levels.
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.
Blogger •Former NHL Referee • 
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