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Twenty five years ago today, my officiating boss and mentor John McCauley passed away at age 44 after emergency gall bladder surgery. It was a devastating loss for hockey -- and for all who knew him -- that is still felt to this day.

John was an outstanding director of officiating and a gifted teacher. He was someone whom no one wanted to disappoint. McCauley was dedicated to his staff's individual and collective success. He was tough and demanding but was also fair and patient. He coached for success and emphasized the value of learning from experience and mistakes. Away from the rink, he was also a fine human being.

Some people can do a certain job well but are not good teachers. Others are good communicators who can teach well but were not particularly well-suited to doing that job for a living. John McCauley was the rare person who excelled at both. He was a top-notch NHL referee before a serious eye injury and later became a stellar director of officiating.

John was never about self-aggrandizement or power. I always knew he cared about me and had my best interests at heart. Along with Scotty Morrison, Frank Udvari and John Ashley, it was John McCauley who taught me how to be to be referee. He stuck with me as I learned the craft. He let me know in no uncertain terms that he would not let me give in to those who wanted to run me out of the game. That always stuck with me after his death.

Speaking of running me out the game, the first time I met John McCauley was at Madison Square Garden on Sept. 27, 1976. As a member of the New York Rangers, I was making my National Hockey League exhibition game debut. I had a fight with the Philadelphia Flyers' Steve Short. In the course of the fight, I accidentally pulled my opponent's hair.

McCauley, who was refereeing the game, tossed me out for the infraction. He was right, even though the hair pull was inadvertent.

The next time I crossed paths with John came during the 1980-81 season, while I was playing for the American Hockey League's Binghamton Whalers. After taking time off from hockey in order to try and save my failing marriage, I was attempting to work my way back to the NHL. In the meantime, John was also on the comeback trail from a serious eye injury.

In 1979, McCauley officiated the Challenge Cup series at Madison Square Garden between an NHL All-Star team and the Soviet Union. On Feb. 11, 1979, the Soviets won the final game, 6-0. The Russians clinched the series, two games to one.

After the game, McCauley went across the street to eat dinner. A crazed "hockey fan" assaulted and sucker punched him in the eye. John suffered nerve and muscle damage that permanently affected his depth perception and caused double vision. He underwent five surgeries.

While McCauley was working his way back to officiating at the NHL level -- where he briefly returned to refereeing before becoming the NHL's assistant director of officiating in June 1981 -- he refereed one the games I played with Binghamton.

Once again, John handed me a game misconduct. This one was also the right call. As I left the ice, McCauley delivered a message to me.

"Come find me after the game," he said. "I want to talk to you."

Intrigued, I went to him after the game. We shook hands.

"Paul, you should think about coming over to our side when you're done playing. You have the bloodlines," he said, referring to my grandfather and father's officiating legacies.

"I will think about it," I said.

Little did I know at the time that, just a few years later, John would be instrumental in my successful transition from playing to refereeing. He and the others I mentioned basically took my hand and guided me through an often bumpy ride back to the NHL.

At times early in my officiating career, I struggled with the rule book -- but not in the way that you might think. John McCauley got me to learn the book thoroughly by having ME write up a rulebook test that passed muster with him.

Knowledge of the rules and their permutations was not the issue. Rather, my struggle was with rules that I thought were ill-conceived ones (such as the automatic delay of game penalty for even a clearly accidental flip of the puck over the glass by a goaltender) or were vague and poorly written.

Whenever I would question the wisdom of a certain rule, John would slow me down and ask me, "Paul, what is the purpose of that rule? Why does it exist?"

While I was working my way up to the NHL as an official, John had me work an extremely busy slate of games in a variety of leagues. I worked minor, junior and AHL hockey. I worked a lot in Western Canada, where American officials (especially aggressive ones such as myself) were not very warmly welcomed.

One year in the NHL training program, I worked 37 games in 39 nights in four 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 firmly standing behind me. McCauley went to bat for me many times, and he once put his finger in my chest and bawled me out when I was on the brink of complying with a supervisor's demand that I resign. That was just about the angriest I ever saw John get.

During the 1989 playoffs, John wasn't feeling well. He refused to see a doctor. To those around him, he chalked it up to stress and a nagging stomach ailment.

On June 3, 1989, John died.

I named my older son McCauley John Stewart in honor of my mentor, boss, and friend. To this very day, I can sometimes hear the voice of John McCauley -- or the voices of my father or grandfather -- guiding me when I have tough decision to make.

I have also remained close with John's son, Wes. Like me, Wes made the successful transition from being a player to a referee.

A solid defenseman at Michigan State University, Wes was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the eighth round of the 1990 Draft (a little over a year after his father's passing). Wes played a few years of minor league and overseas hockey before making the switch to officiating and working his way up to the NHL.

Today, Wes McCauley is one of the one of the NHL's top referees. Yesterday, the NHL announced that Wes will be working in the Stanley Cup Finals for the second straight year. I am very happy for Wes, and I know his father would be proud of the man and official he's become.

Congratulations also go out to referees Dan O'Halloran, Brad Watson and Steve Kozari (a first-time Cup Final selection) as well as linesmen Derek Amell, Scott Driscoll, Shane Heyer and Brad Kovachik. I will be rooting for all of them to do well in the Finals.

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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.