Andy Van Hellemond | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | February 16, 1948 | ||||
| Occupation | Ice hockey referee | ||||
| Years active | 1969–1997 | ||||
| Employer | National Hockey League | ||||
| |||||
| Guelph City Councillor for Ward 2 — St. George's | |||||
| In office 2010–2018 | |||||
| Preceded by | Vicki Beard and Ian Findlay | ||||
| Succeeded by | James Gordon and Rodrigo Goller | ||||
Andy Van Hellemond (born February 16,1948) is a Canadian former National Hockey League referee and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame since 1999. He is also a former municipal politician,serving on city council for the City of Guelph,Ontario,from 2010 to 2018.
Van Hellemond's NHL officiating career began in 1969 and included 19 Stanley Cup Finals. [1] [2] In 1984,he became the first NHL on-ice official to wear a helmet;four years later,the NHL made helmets mandatory for all on-ice officials (however,any official who was not wearing a helmet at the time of the ruling could continue to go helmetless if they so desired). [3] Subsequently,several officials followed his lead,and beginning with the 2006–07 NHL season,all NHL on-ice officials were compelled to wear helmets. He also officiated 1,557 regular season games and 227 playoff games. Van Hellemond has been the NHL's #1 referee for 14 consecutive times. He also officiated in two All-Star games,the 1979 Challenge Cup,and Rendez-vous '87.
From the 1977–78 to 1993–94 seasons,NHL officials' jerseys displayed their last names on the back. Due to its length,his name was displayed in two lines. From the 1994–95 NHL season until his retirement in 1997,he wore uniform number 25,which was later worn by Marc Joannette. [4] [5]
After retiring as an on-ice official,Van Hellemond held a management position with the East Coast Hockey League until being hired by the NHL in 2000 to replace Bryan Lewis as Director of Officiating. Van Hellemond remained director of officiating until July 2004,when he was asked by Colin Campbell to resign from the position because of concern over the former's personal gambling debts. [6]
In July 2011,Van Hellemond served the creators of the comic strip Adam@home with a notice of intention to sue for libel over a comic that used the word "evil" in referring to Van Hellemond as "the worst and most evil ref ever." Newspapers carrying the strip,including the Toronto Star and The Boston Globe ,were also served. [7] [8]
Van Hellemond was a candidate for City Councillor during the 2010 municipal election in the city of Guelph,Ontario. [9] He was elected to Ward Two,winning with 29.86% of the vote over both incumbents. [10]
In 2014,Van Hellemond was elected for a second term as City Councillor for Ward 2,in the Guelph municipal election. [11] Van Hellemond was not a candidate for City Council in the 2018 Elections. [12]
A hockey helmet is worn by players of ice hockey, inline hockey, and bandy to help protect the head from potential injury when hit by the puck, sticks, skates, boards, other players, or the ice. The shell of a hockey helmet is generally made of a substance called vinyl nitrile that disperses force from the point of contact, while the liner may be made of either vinyl nitrile foam, expanded polypropylene foam, or other material to absorb the energy, to reduce the chances of concussion. Hockey helmets grip the head from inside by cupping the back of head, or the occipital protuberance. Helmet manufacturers will have a chart that relates their helmet sizes to head measurements. On older models, the helmet size is adjusted by loosening the screws on the side to slide the front portion forward or back.
In ice hockey, an official is a person who has some responsibility for enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game. There are two categories of officials, on-ice officials, who are the referees and linesmen that enforce the rules during gameplay, and off-ice officials, who have an administrative role rather than an enforcement role.
Stéphane Provost was a French Canadian National Hockey League (NHL) linesman.
Don Koharski is a retired professional ice hockey referee in the National Hockey League. He resides in Tampa, Florida, with his wife, with whom he has two sons. Starting with the 1994–95 NHL season, he wore uniform number 12, and, since the 1987–88 NHL season, he wore a helmet while refereeing NHL games.
The 1988–89 NHL season was the 72nd season of the National Hockey League. The Calgary Flames won an all-Canadian Stanley Cup Finals against the Montreal Canadiens four games to two. This remains the last time two Canadian teams faced each other for the Stanley Cup.
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Wesley McCauley is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current National Hockey League (NHL) referee. He is the son of Irene and John McCauley, who was also an NHL referee.
William John Smith is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He won four Stanley Cups with the New York Islanders and was the first goalie to be credited with a goal in the NHL. In 2017 Smith was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history.
Eric Furlatt is a National Hockey League referee, wearing number 27. He made his debut during the 2001–02 NHL season. As of the start of the 2024–25 season, Furlatt has officiated 1,464 regular season games and 180 playoff games, including one Stanley Cup Finals appearance.
Jonny Murray is a Canadian National Hockey League linesman, who wears uniform number 95. He made his debut during the 2000–01 NHL season, and has officiated 1,506 regular season games and 192 playoff games, including seven Stanley Cup Finals appearances, as of the start of the 2024–25 season.
Thomas John Luxmore is a Canadian ice hockey referee currently officiating in the National Hockey League. He made his debut during the 2013–14 NHL season, and wears uniform number 21. As of the start of the 2024–25 season, he has refereed 655 regular season games and 29 Stanley Cup playoff games.
Bob Nadin is a Canadian retired ice hockey referee and administrator. He refereed at the 1972 Winter Olympics, and served as a referee supervisor for the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the National Hockey League, and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. He was involved with the Winter Olympic Games every Olympiad from 1972 until 2012, and was honoured by the International Olympic Committee with the Pierre de Coubertin Medal. The IIHF honoured Nadin with the Paul Loicq Award, and inducted him into the IIHF Hall of Fame.
The NHL has 60 referees and linesmen under contract and among them are 11 men who do not wear helmets. This is allowed through a grandfather clause in the collective agreement between the NHL Officials' Association and the league, which made wearing helmets mandatory beginning with the 1988-89 season. However, just as the NHL did with its players when helmets became compulsory for them in 1979, a grandfather clause was inserted in the agreement. All referees and linesmen who were employed on or before Sept. 1, 1988 did not have to wear a helmet.
