The Best Referees Today

[Edmonton East]

Pretty much all of us love ridiculing the referees on a nightly basis, but I'm curious who fans feel are the best officials in the game today. Obviously this will be very subjective.

Main reason for the thread is the Devils/Sabers game this past Monday. Gord Dwyer and Ian Walsh did a phenomenal job officiating a game that had some massive, clean hits by both teams. They didn't make knee jerk reaction calls and correctly penalized the teams for going after a player following a clean hit. Unfortunately, this type of great officiating is rarely seen in today's NHL.

Click to read more...

 

[Edmonton East]

^ 8 year bump for Gord Dwyer recognition once again. He did a fantastic job during the 4 Nations and was the most relied upon official. Yea yea yea, I know it'll fall on deaf ears again. Endlessly complaining about officials (often rightfully) is more fun.

 

[Mr Kot]

I'm not sure what's wierder, that op made a thread 8 years ago that nobody posted in or that he remembered it existed

 

[koyvoo]

I'm not sure what's wierder, that op made a thread 8 years ago that nobody posted in or that he remembered it existed

Plot twist - OP is Gordie Dwyer’s mom.

 

[Hazy Little Thing]

Great question, people are quick to say “so and so are the worst refs in the league” well if you can rank the worst then let’s see the best, let’s see your top 10.

 

[Coffee]

Best OP ever, love these types of posters and posts

Like seriously, who else is paying attention to this stuff?

 

[ijuka]

Great question, people are quick to say “so and so are the worst refs in the league” well if you can rank the worst then let’s see the best, let’s see your top 10.

Not sure what qualifies good reffing vs bad reffing. Hard to verify statistically.

 

[JoVel]

I'm not sure what's wierder, that op made a thread 8 years ago that nobody posted in or that he remembered it existed

I wonder what conclusion we can make from the fact that no one posted in a thread asking about the best NHL referees...?

 

[Three On Zero]

Wes McCauley

 

[Edmonton East]

I wonder what conclusion we can make from the fact that no one posted in a thread asking about the best NHL referees...?

Well, exactly what I said from the beginning. People prefer endlessly bitching about officiating in all sports, yet never give credit to great officials. Gord Dwyer's rise through the NHL officiating ranks has actually been wild, so gotta give credit to the NHL brass for recognizing him. Instead people fawn over average officials like McCauley simply because he announces some penalties like a jackass.

Consistency from game to game, and more importantly within a single game, are the most important qualities a high end official can have (aside from just knowing the rule book). Along with understanding the flow of a game. Searching for a Gord Dwyer jersey rn.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Andy Van Hellemond.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Not sure what qualifies good reffing vs bad reffing. Hard to verify statistically.

If you’re looking up the referee’s name, he’s probably doing something wrong.

Therefore it’s hard to identify the good ones.

 

[algernon]

Wes McCauley

You can't do that

 

[Ghost of Murph]

Best refs are many times the ones you don't hear much about.

A couple of the better known ones who are pretty good did last night's game. Dwyer has consistently been a good ref. Rooney on the whole is the best of the higher profile refs. Many will disagree, but he's excellent.

Unfortunately the league uses the good ol boy system for the playoffs, so you get goofs like McCauley and Sutherland doing important games. The NHL claims it uses a rating system to select refs for the playoffs. Heh.

 

[wintersej]

Best refs are many times the ones you don't hear much about.

A couple of the better known ones who are pretty good did last night's game. Dwyer has consistently been a good ref. Rooney on the whole is the best of the higher profile refs. Many will disagree, but he's excellent.

Unfortunately the league uses the good ol boy system for the playoffs, so you get goofs like McCauley and Sutherland doing important games. The NHL claims it uses a rating system to select refs for the playoffs. Heh.

Ask Boston fans what they think about Rooney.