Report: Female referees coming to NHL

The NHL will soon follow the example set forth by the NBA and NFL.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 5 years ago
Report: Female referees coming to NHL
The Washington Post

It’s only a matter of time. So get ready, boys. 

Female on-ice officials are coming to the NHL, it’s not a matter of “if” but a matter of “when”. 

NCAA referee Katie Guay recently officiated a men’s Division I game in the Beanpot between Harvard and Boston College, paving the way for a discussion about female referees in pro hockey. Out of the four major pro team sports in North America, hockey is the only one not to have women officials. That will change, according to NHL Director of Officiating Stephen Walkom. In a recent discussion with Washington Capitals insider Isabelle  Khurshudyan, Walkom admitted that the league has reached out to Division I women’s players to gauge their interest in attending NHL officiating clinics.

“I don’t think we really have a deadline for putting a woman [official] in the NHL,” Walkom said. “I think we want the most talented individuals doing our games regardless of who they are or where they’re from. Our big goal is to just deepen the pool of aspiring young officials, men and women, and get them involved and get them to try officiating, especially those that are great athletes and great skaters who played at a pretty high level. And then I know one day, somebody is going to like it enough and be good at it that one day we see them in pro hockey.”

The appeal is evident. There simply aren’t many options for women to earn a living in the sport. Opening up the role of professional official to women represents a huge opportunity to the very best female hockey players. 

“What it comes down to is, it doesn’t take an X or a Y chromosome to stick your hand in the air and call a penalty,” says Paul Stewart Director of Officiating for the NCAA’S ECAC division. “Which lavatory you use doesn’t really matter to me. When I hire you, I hire you for your ability to recognize penalties and skate and get in shape and be where you need to be to make the call.”

Stewart has six women on his officiating roster and admits that he’s hard a hard time recruiting women for job. Nevertheless, he feels that we’ll see a female referee in the NHL within his lifetime. 

“I do think it’ll happen in my lifetime for a female to get out there in the NHL, but I think in order for it to happen, assigners at the lower level, the junior level, need to provide opportunities to females in order for us to see a female referee in the NHL,” Guay said. “As players develop and grow and make it to the show, officials are put on a similar path, so they need to be given the development at the lower levels first in order for them to work their way up. . . . That’s something that I’m hoping, me being out there at the college level will open not only young kids’ eyes to realize that there’s potential out there, but also assigners’ eyes in providing more opportunities for females in the boys’ and men’s game.”