Female referees in the NHL!?

TSN insider Darren Dreger drops a bomb!

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 5 years ago
Female referees in the NHL!?
Zuma Press

NHL insider and TSN analyst Darren Dreger dropped a bomb on Twitter this afternoon, casually throwing out that the NHL is working toward employing female on ice officials. 

Check it out: 


The NHL is working toward there being female on ice officials one day.  More..tonight in Insider Trading.

Whoa! Where did that come from!?

There has literally been ZERO discussion of female officials in the NHL. In fact, most officials in the highest women’s league, certainly in the Olympic Games, are in fact men. Now, this isn’t to say that some women aren’t just as qualified as some of their male counterparts, it’s just to say that this topic hasn’t really ever been Brough up before today.

Check out some of these quotes from TSN’s Insider Trading segment in which Dreger breaks down the NHL’s stance on female officials:

“The National Hockey League is one hundred percent open to it, it’s inevitable and it is going to happen. What we don’t have is a timeline as to when it is going to happen.”
“There have been women who have attended the NHL’s official combine in Buffalo in the past, but I know the NHL is putting out the invite to say, ‘Look, college players, national team women, absolutely come to this combine and if you’re up to pace, we’ll find a way to get you in.”

Awesome! How cool would it be for girls and young women who grow up watching the NHL to actually see a woman on the ice taking part in the action? The sticking point is that obviously the NHL cannot afford to have unqualified officials on the ice, regardless of their gender. But, as Dreger says, if a woman can keep up with the pace and proves herself worthy of the position then why not give her the job? This is 2018, it’s time that the NHL takes a step forward and acknowledges that hockey isn’t just for the boys. It’s a sport that is inclusive to everyone.

The NFL hired its first female official, Sarah Thomas, back in 2015. She made her historic debut in a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on September 13, 2015.