Referee Supervisors Raising the Standard

The NYHL Supervisor staff are ready to begin another productive season working with the on-ice officials. The NYHL has a corps of twelve senior referees trained in supervision who go out to the arenas and watch our referees and linesmen work in NYHL League and tournament games. The purpose is to help each official improve performance by providing another set of experienced eyes to spot areas for improvement in positioning, rule interpretation and enforcement standards. Each supervisor will complete 30 or more individual evaluations between October and April for a staff total of more than 400. On average each official will receive four supervisions over the season, getting feedback from a variety of senior colleagues. The overall aim of the input is to improve consistency and support the high standard that the NYHL has enjoyed for many years.  The ongoing supervisory program provides follow-up to the annual re-certification clinic and mandatory examination that each official must take in order to renew his card. 

The NYHL is fortunate to have former National Hockey League referee Dean Warren and former OHA referee Murray Evans among its supervisors. These gentlemen volunteer their time and expertise to give something back to the sport and to help young officials develop the skills needed to move up through the ranks of officiating. Proof of the program’s success can be found in the number of young officials who have received their grounding in the NYHL and moved on to establish themselves in the OHA and the OHL. Having mentors like Dean and Murray encouraging them makes every official want to be the best he or she can be and the immediate benefactors are the teams and players who get officials who really want to do the best job they can possibly do. 

Along with Dean and Murray, the Supervisory Staff for on-ice officials is proud to have Darren Armstrong,  Norm Belyea, Ken Van Dyk, Peter Kourtis, Ken Luk, Steven Picco, Greg Stephany, Sean Squires, Chris Whelan, and Chris Whiting, under the capable guidance of Referee-in-Chief Neil Mctaggart and Assistant Referee-in-Chief Jason Hann.