April's Penalty Box
Fraser retires after one last classic
Monday, 04.12.2010 / 10:05 AM / In The Spotlight
By John McGourty - NHL.com Staff Writer
Original story from NHL.com
PHILADELPHIA -- If you look back at photographs of some of the most important moments in NHL history over the past 30 years, you'll often find referee Kerry Fraser in the picture.
Fraser officiated some of the biggest games, Stanley Cup Finals, Olympics, World Cups, and All-Star Games. On Sunday, he added another chapter, refereeing the first NHL game that ended in a shootout between two teams vying for the final Stanley Cup Playoff berth when the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the New York Rangers, 2-1.
Before the season started, Fraser was given his choice of two games and he selected the 2010 Bridgestone Winter Classic game on New Year's Day in Boston between the Bruins and Flyers. His next choice was the season-ender in Philadelphia. Fraser, who grew up in Sarnia, Ontario, is a Philadelphia-area resident.
He also had his choice of officiating partners and selected referee Kelly Sutherland and linesmen Don Henderson and Darren Gibbs. All four wore Fraser's No. 2 in tribute to the NHL's senior referee.
"Who woulda thunk it," Fraser said after the game at a party held in his honor in the Wachovia Center. "It's 20 minutes from my house and we could assemble everybody and party and be close to home and close to family. Never did I think for a second it would be for the final playoff spot between the two teams. To have it decided by a shootout, you can't script that in Hollywood."
Fraser's officiating partners were thrilled. They've learned from him as have a couple of generations of amateur referees, who closely watch NHL games and referees to see how it's done the right way.
"It was a great experience and it was an honor when Kerry invited us to do his final game," Gibbs said. "The way it worked out, that's a Hollywood script. It was fitting for Kerry who has done so many big games for his final one to be as good and as big as it was."
"I met him at the 1986 Stanley Cup, his first," Henderson said. "He was a mentor and a good friend, someone who took care of me. I met him at a game I went to with my brother and he was refereeing with John McCauley. A fan was going to slap McCauley and my brother sat him down in a hurry and Kerry remembered that. That's where I met him and he was there on Day One when I first put on my NHL referee jersey."
Sutherland's relationship goes back a long way and it's one Fraser treasures.
"When I was 14-15 and just starting officiating, he was the one guy I'd turn on the TV and try to learn from him," Sutherland said. "He was a great referee to watch and learn from. I met him when I was 18 at referee school, where he was an instructor. From then on, he was very instrumental in my career. For the past two decades I've learned from this guy and it was a great honor to work his last game."
"Kelly looks so much like me and he has emulated some of my mannerisms, but he is his own man," Fraser said. "He's an outstanding referee. But at that school, he was following me around like a puppy dog and I found out he had my hockey card in his wallet. His hairstyle is like mine and we're the same size and stature. His skating style is similar.
"It was really an honor to have each guy that I selected to be part of this final regular-season game."
Fraser was asked if he ever thought, back when he was a kid getting paid peanuts to referee beer leagues and kid's games that he'd become one of the game's greatest officials.
"I never had an aspirations of being an official. I wanted to play," said Fraser, who got his first taste of Philadelphia when he left Sarnia to play junior hockey in Collingswood, N.J. "The only reason I did all those industrial-league games at 15 was to get extra skating time so I could improve. My dad was refereeing and had played pro and coached me in AAA Midgets for two years. We had seven guys on that team that played in the NHL.
"It was high-quality amateur hockey, but I got extra skating and a little extra money but never did I think I would become a referee. When the door closed for me on my Junior A career, I decided I wanted to stay in the game so I went to a referee school on the recommendation of a family friend, Ted Garvin, who went on to coach the Red Wings.
"I was in the right place at the right time. It was 1972 and the NHL was looking to replace officials who had jumped ship and gone to the World Hockey Association. They got serious about recruiting and Frank Udvari saw something in me, I don't know what it was but they thought they could teach me and thank God they did."
The Flyers held a nice ceremony before the game to honor Fraser, who was joined for the ceremonial puck drop by his grandkids, Harrison, 8, and Brady, 6.
After, he could be seen talking briefly to Rangers center Chris Drury Flyers center Mike Richards.
"I said to both centers, gentlemen, this game is about you. This is your time. It's not about me. I want you to play hard. I want you to be safe. And, don't worry about us."
"I was in the right place at the right time. It was 1972 and the NHL was looking to replace officials who had jumped ship and gone to the World Hockey Association. They got serious about recruiting and Frank Udvari saw something in me, I don't know what it was but they thought they could teach me and thank God they did."
-- Kerry Fraser
Typical Fraser who said he was always aware that all across North America amateur referees tune in to watch the good ones.
"We have a responsibility and the game has always been first for me," Fraser said. "I woke up this morning and I had all these thoughts that I had to push away because I needed to focus on the game. That's the professionalism that we need to be cognizant of when we step on the ice. There are a lot of officials watching.
"If we do something inappropriate, show anger, get in disputes with players and not handle things appropriately, we're sending the wrong signal. That's a huge responsibility that each of us has as a high-profile NHL official."
Fraser and his wife, Kathy, raised seven children, Marcie, Ryan, Jessica, Matthew, Ian, Jaime, and Kara. He said it was a thrill to have Harrison and Brady on the ice with him for the tribute.
"They're two of the three children of our oldest, Marcie, and they live two doors down the street from us," Fraser said.
Perfect. With three kids, there will always be plenty of disputes to decide and calls to make.
Original story from NHL.com
MArch's Penalty Box
Low pay, high abuse: For the love of the $@*%&# ref
Sarah Boesveld
From Thursday's Globe and Mail Published on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010 7:50PM EST Last updated on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010 7:58PM EST
For about $25 an hour, Bruce Tennant has taken countless verbal slams and one physical attack that saw him haul a man to court.
“Yeah, I've been intentionally hit,” says the 49-year-old Toronto hockey referee, recalling a men's rec league game in the early 1990s. The player was booted from the ice after one too many penalties. He came back for revenge – right at the neck of Mr. Tennant.
“He followed me across the ice and cross-checked me in the back of the head with his stick,” says the seasoned ref, who's sported the stripes since he was 14 years old. “I wasn't injured, but he was found guilty and was given a suspended sentence.”
The job can be thankless, especially in beer leagues where refs are paid far less than those who do official league games. It can be tough on the ego – NHL referee Stephane Auger faced accusations he threatened Vancouver Canucks player Alex Burrows, a drama exacerbated by comments from CBC commentator Ron MacLean – and even dangerous. Last month in Woodstock, Ont., a Junior C hockey referee had his throat sliced by an errant skate blade while trying to break up a brawl.
So why subject yourself to the punishment? For amateur refs, it’s all for the love of the game.
Many rec league refs are former players and do it to remain a part of the game, says Chuck Faultless, who organizes tournaments for the Canadian Adult Recreational Hockey Association. Others are young guys who don’t have the skills to turn pro. And some can’t ref in official games due to time constraints and family duties. Plus adult rec leagues, as opposed to kid’s hockey or the official leagues, are far more relaxed, Mr. Faultless says.
“It’s thankless in a lot of ways,” says Mr. Faultless who has refereed for the past 40 years, 20 of those in beer leagues. “But it’s thankful
too, because there are a lot of guys who do appreciate what you do.
“We’ve got a couple of leagues we do where if they’re having a beer and sandwiches, they’ll bring some into our room.”
But with the camaraderie comes challenges.
The job demands not only a solid grip on the rules but also definitely a thick skin, says Peter Coleman, the referee in chief for True North Toronto, an adult rec league. Some refs can’t take the pressure.
“You get to a point where, because you’re constantly being yelled at and abused verbally, you back off calling things, which is just human nature,” he says. “You’re intimidated.”
The mere act of throwing on the skates and wielding a stick can stir unprecedented aggression in players, says Arni Eggertson, a 57-year-old rec league ref in Toronto.
“Some of the nicest guys off the ice, you wonder what happened to them,” he says, noting one incident two weeks ago when a collegial player suddenly tore off his gloves to fist fight an opponent. “They work hard and they don’t like to lose and I suppose [it hit him] that night, or something happened that I didn’t see.”
Mr. Eggertson acknowledges that he misses a lot of calls. And if he didn’t, “I wouldn’t be refereeing men’s hockey on a Monday night – I’d be on TV.”
In his rec league experience, verbal assaults are rare compared with the minor league games, which tend to bring out rowdy fans, says the retired Toronto Police Service staff sergeant. Just last week some onlookers threatened to take him on in the parking lot after the game.
“Fans are entitled, they pay to get into the rink and they know that I’m getting paid,” he says. “But if they knew how much I was getting paid for the abuse that I take … .” perhaps they wouldn’t unleash such attacks, he adds.
Part of the draw to rec hockey is the lack of spectator pressure and politics, says Pat Frost, who assigns referees to games and tournaments in the Ottawa area.
“You don’t have to deal with the screaming parents. What you have is a bunch of adults out to have a good time,” he says. That attitude leads to fewer skirmishes, though some refs say those same heckling parents pepper the rec teams as players.
There’s much cleaner play in the beer leagues today than there was 20 years ago too, says Ron MacSpadyen, 52, who referees rec league about 10 hours a week in Toronto. It’s likely driven by the increase in boomers wanting to keep fit, have fun and go home to their families at the end of the match.
“They’re just not interested in coming out on a Thursday night to get beat up,” he says.
The reality is, some refs deserve the flack they get, Mr. Tennant argues.
“I think the level of respect for the referees has probably gone down. But I’d say referees have to earn their respect,” he says. “That’s the problem – the referees put on a black and white sweater and expect instant respect. You can’t get that. You have to know what you’re doing.”
Refs build respect by being fair and consistent, Mr. MacSpadyen says. And that can be a huge challenge.
“I think where it breaks down is where officials change their standard or don’t have a high enough standard game to game and year to year.”
Good people skills are crucial too, he says. In his case, it helps that he’s been refereeing the same leagues for a while and the players know that he takes no guff.
“As long as you’re taking care of it, being fair and talking it out all the time, I think you can avoid some of the stuff that gets heavy,” he says. “And that’s not to say things don’t get heavy in beer league, because they do.”
View original story from the Globe and Mail
Story by Sarah Boesveld From Thursday's Globe and Mail Published on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010 7:50PM EST Last updated on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010 7:58PM EST
February's Penalty Box
Roland Hedberg Dead: Hockey Referee Dies After Hit From Puck
STOCKHOLM — A Swedish ice hockey referee has died after being hit in the back of the head by a puck during a junior game.
A police spokesman said the 62-year-old man was refereeing an under-18 game in northern Sweden on Saturday and was struck by the puck when a player tried to lob it into the offensive zone.
It was not immediately clear whether he died from being hit by the puck or from hitting his head on the ice when he fell.
Police did not name the man, but local media identified him as Roland Hedberg.
Police say the man received CPR by an off-duty ambulance driver within 10 seconds of the accident, but that he was pronounced dead upon arrival at a hospital.
Story from the Huffington Post