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Officiating By Proxy: What You Need to Know About Skating & Positioning |
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Follow Paul on Twitter: @PaulStewart22
For nearly my entire life, I have learned about the art of officiating from some of the best in the business. I sat at the elbow of my grandfather, Bill Stewart, as he scouted baseball for the Washington Senators and Cleveland Indians. I'd fetch him an ice cream or a water then listen as he pointed out things that all umpires need to do. He knew from experience. After all, apart from being a Stanley Cup winning coach and NHL referee, my grandfather also umpired for 22 years in the National League .The man knew a thing or two.
I later umpired, using this tip: "From behind the plate, you want that inside look. You should be positioned almost nearby enough able to whisper in or nibble on that catcher's ear."
Then, in winter, I'd sit at The Boston Arena and watch my dad, also named Bill Stewart, ref a BU vs. BC hockey game. Munching on Boston Arena fries with a few rare NHL scouts at his elbow, hearing my Grampy point out things he noticed about the reffing, the coaching and even the players. Again, he spoke from years of experience, having been an NHL ref, the coach of the Chicago Black Hawks and, later, an NHL GM. He knew hockey from every side of the game.
I sat like a sponge, in awe, as Boom Boom Geoffrion and "Cooney" Weiland sat on either side of his elbows, talking to each other out of the sides of their mouths; all the while not taking their faces off of the ice, looking at the play while they spilled out their observations about this player or that coach. They, too, were listening intently as Grampy dissected the game and even critiqued his own son as Bill Jr. reffed this fierce college rivalry.
A few feet away, I was there, soaking it all in. I just loved being around the game. Somehow, I kept it in my mind for the future day that I would eventually stop playing professionally and start umping or reffing. As if that ever would happen. Well, eventually it did. Little did I know what was in store for me!
All of this is by way of saying that with my own 40+ years of professional involvement in hockey, including 1,010 games as an NHL referee followed by the last 14 years of teaching, supervising and overseeing the officiating side, I may not be the equal of my U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer grandfather or my dad but I think I know just a wee bit more than the average bear when it comes to the ins and outs of refereeing.
Today, two days after the end of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, the internet is rife with bitter diatribes about referee Kevin Pollock. Surprisingly, though,"The Wizard of Walpole", Mike Milbury backed off dissecting Kevin Pollock as Kevin was within the letter of the law for the decision he made. Give credit where credit is due. Mike knew that this is the rule.
I recall my opening game, doing the exact same thing as Kevin did on Sunday night. I disallowed a potential game-winning goal in a 2-2 tie @ Boston vs Montreal because I lost sight of the puck. I thought Patrick Roy had it firmly clamped under his glove, pressed against his chest. I was within 10 feet of the net right on the line within a stride and a half of the crease.
I was an emergency replacement referee. This call came in the second period. Forty-five game play seconds earlier, I had been in the press box munching popcorn, watching and learning the game alongside John McCauley while referee Dave Newell and linesmen Ron Asselstine and Leon Stickle went about their late season assignment. Newell broke his ribs as Mats Naslund drove him into the side stanchion holding the glass next to the Montreal bench.
Funny, I disallowed the goal. Even after Butch Goring screamed at me, Ray Bourque calmly told me that it was not a "great" call. Mike Milbury was there, too.
Within the letter of the Rule Book, I was right to blow the whistle the moment I lost sight of the puck but, from a hockey sense standpoint, I still knew I was wrong. Patience and a little Crazy Glue on that hand on your pant leg, holding that whistle for an extra second as you can't get that moment back. This is what I learned that night. Watching Kevin's situation the other night brought that flashback vividly to mind all over again.
When I watch officials in the National Hockey League (and other circuits, too, but the NHL is at the top of the food chain), I am dismayed at the poor coaching they receive. It all starts with skating and positioning. These guys aren't instructed properly in some fundamentals.
Get to the net! I tell my referees to angle in from the top of the circle with a C cut by the outside leg, you will be angling 45 degrees into the pipes. You should NOT be coming down the ice and doing a 90 degree from the deep corner. By watching that sequence on Sunday night, you can see in the replay that Kevin suddenly knew he had to get to the net but he was a stride late.
Yes, he was too deep in the corner because this is where the NHL wants their referees to be. Why? because they don't think about positioning until after the fact. Simply put, they don't coach their people to gain great positioning. I see them all standing on the hash marks at the circles -- exactly the spot that the D fires the puck to get it out. This is NOT good positioning and, since it goes uncorrected year after year, it's not very good coaching, either.
My advice to Keven and other NHL referees, passed down from a great teacher and coach, John McCauley: "It is the Rub of the Green. Get onto your next game....you aren't the first, but you didn't quit. You went on and reffed a helluva game."
OK, armchair officiating experts and those who genuinely aspire to ref, here are some items to notice when you watch a game officiated at any level.
The referee has to understand the width of the rink is 85 feet or 100 feet. He (or she) should use the dots as a geographical landmark. Go straight up and down the dots but when you are backing in and hit the top of the circle, angle into the net.
Draw two round circles around the area adjacent to the pipes. Think of it visually like Mickey Mouse ears. Those circles are your "Happy Place"; they are your Disneyland. Go there. If the traffic gets thick and there are too many bodies around you, banana curve around to the other side of that net. Quickly!
The Russians, when I was coaching them in the KHL, understood "Banana" as I held one up to the white board with the lines marked for the goal and the crease. Some things are universal. President Trump might use some similar ideas to get his point across to those dreaded Russkies. I always had the Russian officials smiling as I taught them the most important part of the game: "Get to the net. The Rubles are at the net, comrades." The fans, in any arena in the world, will soon forget a missed hook or a hold at center ice but they never seem to forget a goal that was awarded or taken away by an official's error. I know that all too well.
GET TO THE NET! Anticipate the shot and drift into the area as the puck is where the action will be. "Telescope" in to the net. "Accordion" to and from the backboards to the crease line to the back boards.
SKATE! Know how to maximize your chance to best see the play.
Be in peak physical condition. Great conditioning allows for great positioning. You are then not physically or mentally tired. You are sharp and display that confidence and that healthy swagger that projects your know-how.
Linesmen, help yourself. From my observations of working with Gauthier, Collins, D'Amico, Scampy, Schachte, Dapuzzo, Finn, Murphy, Heyer et al, get off the line. Move out to get a good view and to "SELL" the call. If the puck is on the far side of the rink, get out to at least to the dot. Get a forward angle from inside the zone or a look from an angle as you move outside the zone in neutral ice.
But DON'T stand on that line. You get blocked off and you can't see as players traverse the line trying to stay on sides. It's not "your" line, anyway. It belongs to the rink and the guy who painted it. If you get in traffic, TRUST that your partner will come up to help you. It's called teamwork. Escape to a safe place, and not by jumping up on the boards. Skate to safety. Trust your partner.
Line calls under review: I hate that review! The NHL has decided to review a traditional game play that has been a nagging toothache from a 1980 Stanley Cup game when linesman Leon Stickle made a glaring mistake. Thirty-seven years later, the Nashville Predators pay for it with a microscopic review of a skate that is a cat's hair off the blue line. There was ZERO advantage gained from it, so if it's missed in real time at the line, well, just live with it. I am now thinking of the Airship Hindenburg and that famous quote as the airship crashed and burned...."Oh The Humanity...The Humanity....I can't talk....please, please...get out of the way....OH, OH, The Humanity."
My question, Gary and Colin and you 31 GMs that nodded in unison like those ceramic doggies in the back window of a Hot Rod on RT. 66: "Who the hell even thought that THIS would be an improvement?" Where is the allowance for HUMANITY? Where is the appreciation for officials doing their best. After all, you tell us that they are the best in the world. So let them decide then.....after all, humanity, personality and tradition are what this game was built on.
OK, my work here is done for today. Next week at Rodman Arena in Walpole, Mass. at 5:45 AM we will be having our "Breakfast Club" skates for 2017-2018 season. We will be teaching positioning, philosophy, communication, rules and applications: The How Tos of Officiating. We even have a coach coming to teach great skating strides, Mandy Curtin from the Skating Club of Boston is a professional coach who knows her stuff. Mandy has worked with some AHL/NHL officials on how to get going backwards without having to skate forwards to then be able to turn backwards. Mandy taught them how to get the most out of a stride. That is how to SKATE. This why we give you a pair of skates and tell you, get to the net and skate where you need to skate to see what you need to see.
Kevin, your next game and your next call will be the most important call. Brother, stand tall. You aren't alone.
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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 serves as director of hockey officiating for the ECAC.
Blogger •Former NHL Referee • 
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