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Many of the blogs I have written thus far for HockeyBuzz have touched upon aspects of the game and officiating that I believe have changed for the worse, or which need to be changed yet remain frustratingly static. Not all change is for the bad.
One part of officiating -- and of the sport as a whole -- that has changed for the better over the last 30 years has been the greatly increased emphasis placed upon physical fitness and conditioning. Nowadays, I dare say that professional referees and linesmen are equal or sometimes even better conditioned than many of the players, in terms of both their skating and cardiovascular conditioning.
Back in the 1970s when I was playing professionally and the early to mid-1980s when I was breaking in as a referee, things were very different. Many players and officials alike lived on a McKenzie Brothers diet of beer, Tim Horton's or Dunkin' Donuts and back bacon.
When I was playing hockey at the University of Pennsylvania and working my way up through the minor leagues, many of my teammates thought I was an oddball because I went to the gym, tried to maintain a proper diet, studied martial arts and otherwise paid attention to keeping my body in shape throughout the year.
Back then, many players and officials scoffed at these sorts of things, and many called weight training in particular a "big bore". Their only off-ice exercise was to bend their elbows to hoist a few brews at the bar or to heave the remnants of their drive-through burger and fries at the trash can from 10 feet away.
One of many areas where Hall of Fame coach Fred Shero was way ahead of most of his peers was in stressing the importance to his players of reporting to training camp in decent physical condition. Fortunately, Shero had a devoted messenger in that regard in Bobby Clarke. Clarke led by example in terms of physical conditioning, and most of his teammates fell in line by the fitness standards of the time.
Back then, however, there was still much to learn. Around hockey, even among players who were considered reasonably fit, tobacco use and diets consisting largely of saturated fats and carbohydrates were still not necessarily frowned upon the way they are today. The fitness bar has been raised many notches since that time.
From an officials' standpoint, the 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs were a major turning point in the way conditioning was emphasized. That was the year of the infamous "have another donut" postgame run-in between New Jersey Devils coach Jim Schoenfeld and referee Don Koharski after Game 3 of New Jersey's series with Boston.
After the video and audio of Schoeny verbally assaulting Koho made the rounds -- and led to the officials protesting Schoenfeld's presence behind the bench in Game 4 by refusing to work the game -- the NHL became very sensitive to the perception that too many of its officials were out of shape. A few years later, Koho was spoofed in the Wayne's World movie as the namesake of a likeable but lazy donut-lovin' cop who hangs out daily at "Stan Mikita's Donut Shop" in the Chicago suburbs.
Throughout the 1990s, there was an evolutionary process of the fitness standards expected of officials; meeting these objectives became both mandatory from the NHL in its reviews of referees and linesmen and supported by most of the officials themselves.
A huge step in the process happened in 2000, when the NHL hired Dave Smith to oversee and monitors the health and wellness of all NHL on ice-officials as well as NHL-contracted officiating prospects working in the minor leagues. The brother of former Detroit Red Wings assistant and longtime Swedish league head coach Barry Smith, Dave is a former collegiate and pro (in Europe) hockey player who served as the physical therapist and the strength and conditioning coach for the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers before the League hired him to the post he still holds.
Smitty works directly with each official to craft a personalized off-season fitness plan and in-season maintenance program. On the first day of training camp before the start of the preseason -- yes, there is training camp for officials as well as players -- each official must undergo a pretty rigorous fitness test. During the season, officials are also reviewed on their ongoing skating and physical performance in addition to the traditional review aspects of rule enforcement and game management.
If you want to see what a sample personalized fitness program for an NHL Official looks like,
click here.
I don't know what the NHL pays Dave, but I can tell you the guy earns every dime and probably is underpaid given the scope of his job and the excellent work that he does.
Apart from fitness planning, monitoring and review, Smitty is the one who oversees injury rehabilitation and the medical clearance process after a serious injury before an official can return to work. Considering that the people with whom he works live all across North America and are assigned to cities all over the map in the U.S. and Canada, the job is even more challenging.
Over the years, the outliers in terms of physical fitness started to disappear from the ranks of NHL officials. Since 2008, there have pretty much been none for whom inattention to physical fitness could be considered a legitimate gripe. Instead, nowadays you see more and more world class athletes in the profession. For example, I would put the athleticism and strength of veteran linesman Jay Sharrars up against that of any player in the game.
Between the work that Smith does, the peer pressure from fellow officials and their personal and professional pride (not to mention the need to keep making a living in this business for as long as possible), today's officials have all the tools and motivation they need to stay in shape throughout the year. Let me put it this way: If an official nowadays is not in good enough physical condition to work effectively, he has only himself to blame.
With that said, if you don't have a high degree of self-discipline and self-motivation for fitness, you aren't cut out for the modern business. Referees and linesmen live out of suitcases virtually the entire season. There are few nights spent in your own bed, few home cooked meals and no "home games" per se unless you are working a game in or near the city where you live.
Things like food portion control, limiting intake of bad cholesterol, making time for off-ice exercise (and, if need be, doing injury rehab work) and getting sufficient rest are largely an individual responsibility for officials to balance against constant travel, sleeping in hotels and eating either on their own or with their officiating teammates. This is an area where players have a built-in personal fitness advantage over officials during the season, because the teams largely structure their day-to-day routines for them and the trainers travel with the club.
The next time you are attending a game or playing in a game, keep in mind that the officials work every bit as hard as the players do. The officials wouldn't be doing it unless they loved the game and made a host of personal sacrifices just to get on the ice.
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Recent Blogs by Paul Stewart
The Red Line, O'Rourke Injury and the Two-Ref System
A Christmas Blog
Romeo and that Fox-y Glow
On Wilson, Kamikaze Attacks and Red Herrings
Working With Injury
Coach Accountability and the Engelland Incident
Linesman Appreciation Day: From Thor to Bob's Big Boy to 42nd St. Cops
NHL Officials: Americans Still Have a Hard Time Being Hired
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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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