In ice hockey, an official is responsible for enforcing the rules and maintaining order. On-ice officials are present on the ice during the game, and traditionally wear a shirt with black and white vertical stripes. The National Hockey League (NHL) currently employs four on-ice officials in each game—two referees and two linesmen. Referees are identified by their red or orange armbands. They are responsible for the general supervision of the game, assess penalties, and conduct face-offs at the beginning of each period and after a goal is scored. When play is stopped for another reason, the face-offs are conducted by the linesmen. The linesmen are primarily responsible for violations involving the centre line and blue lines, such as icing and offside infractions.
Since 1994-95 season, picking up where it left off from 1977, all of the officials wear numbers rather than last names.
Year inducted | Name | Nationality |
---|---|---|
1961 | Chaucer Elliott | |
1961 | Mickey Ion | |
1961 | Cooper Smeaton | |
1962 | Mike Rodden | |
1963 | Bobby Hewitson | |
1964 | Bill Chadwick | |
1967 | Red Storey | |
1973 | Frank Udvari | |
1981 | John Ashley | |
1987 | Matt Pavelich | |
1988 | George Hayes | |
1991 | Neil Armstrong | |
1993 | John D'Amico | |
1999 | Andy Van Hellemond | |
2008 | Ray Scapinello | |
2014 | Bill McCreary |
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.
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