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Top Ten Referees

Top 10 ever?

Chadwick
Storey
Smeaton
Udvari
Van Hellemond
McCreary
Fraser
J. McCauley
Ashley
Hewitson
 
Megustaelhockey said:
Top 10 ever?

Chadwick
Storey
Smeaton
Udvari
Van Hellemond
McCreary
Fraser
J. McCauley
Ashley
Hewitson
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Much as I dislike Fraser, I'm on board with these 4. They were pretty clearly a cut above the other guys from their eras.

Somewhat predictably, of the three that are living, none are now supervisors or directors of officiating. Instead, clowns like McGeough and Koharski are calling the shots. That the worst refs of their time are now the bosses is one reason officiating is so bad these days.
 
Kerry Fraser should not be on any list of top referees because, while he largely did his job well enough and competently, he also occasionally (but often enough to notice) got into personal grudges, mid-game, against a particular team, calling 7 or 8 penalties in a row against them and apparently intending to 'send a message' to the coach or team that HE WAS THE BIG BOSS.

This kind of referee cannot be considered the best, in my opinion.

The best referees are the ones we don't notice.
 
billybudd said:
That the worst refs of their time are now the bosses is one reason officiating is so bad these days.
Click to expand...

I think the same is true of teachers and principals. Come to think of it, most employee/manager relationships can be described like this :).
 
The Panther said:
Kerry Fraser should not be on any list of top referees because, while he largely did his job well enough and competently, he also occasionally (but often enough to notice) got into personal grudges, mid-game, against a particular team, calling 7 or 8 penalties in a row against them and apparently intending to 'send a message' to the coach or team that HE WAS THE BIG BOSS.

This kind of referee cannot be considered the best, in my opinion.

The best referees are the ones we don't notice.
Click to expand...

This is why I don't like Fraser, but considering most of the guys that were his contemporaries were also like that, his strengths separated him from them. I once saw Mark Faucette call a phantom penalty on a home player in response to something a guy in the crowd said to him through the photographer hole. Guys chirped him. He turned around, looked him in the eye, looked back at the play, put his hand up immediately, blew the whistle, turned around and stared him down. Fraser wasn't that petty.

I mean, he wouldn't badly, emphatically botch a call, then kick you out of the game for arguing with him. I saw that from McGeough more than once. Nor was he a slot machine like Devorski, where there was no way of knowing what was a penalty or not. He didn't lose control of games like Koharski. Or cheat the rulebook to favor players who played a style he liked, like Stewart.

Fraser had a big ego and wasn't perfect, but he at least meant well, had a good eye and at bare minimum, you could count on him to not butcher the game.

He's not McCreary or McCauley, but he still stands out as a big, big positive compared to his peers. I was almost always relieved to see his name in the program. Unfortunately, Fraser's peers were, almost to a man, impossible not to notice.
 
Bruce Hood was the best I saw I always thought Van Hellemond was vastly overrated. Also, after Bob Plager blasted Andy V into the boards during a playoff game in the early to mid 70s, he seeemed to hate the Blues.
 
Greatest on ice OFFICIAL in my mind is still linesman John D'Amico, followed by Ray Scapinello. As for referees add another vote for Bruce Hood. Always thought he called a tight, fair game. I also was not a fan of Kerry Fraser's penchant for make-up calls. Agree with the criticisms above. Tried to be the story of the game way too much. Others I liked would include Bob Myers, Wally Harris, Don Koharski, Dan Marouelli, Billy McCreary.

Art Skov was the worst. Victor Dombrowski was pretty atrocious too.
 
^^^ There we go, was wondering when Bruce Hoods' name was going to surface.
He generally gets my vote as the best of the past 50yrs, those Ive seen handling games.
 
double5son10 said:
Greatest on ice OFFICIAL in my mind is still linesman John D'Amico, followed by Ray Scapinello. As for referees add another vote for Bruce Hood. Always thought he called a tight, fair game. I also was not a fan of Kerry Fraser's penchant for make-up calls. Agree with the criticisms above. Tried to be the story of the game way too much. Others I liked would include Bob Myers, Wally Harris, Don Koharski, Dan Marouelli, Billy McCreary.

Art Skov was the worst. Victor Dombrowski was pretty atrocious too.
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Scampy was awesome. I believe he was the last official to never wear a helmet.
 
BUMP

Would the group consider doing a Top 25 thread for Referee's and Linesmen, or is there not enough information to support a thread?

This is one aspect of the History of Hockey that is untapped in this group IMO, and would like to see some of the varying opinions on officiating through the years.
 
I currently think dan o rourke and kelly sutherland are the best refs. I like how they work well with whoever they partner with. I like their tempers on the ice qnd how they deal with players ans coaches.
 
Interesting thread. I generally know all the refs today and find most of them bad to unemployable, but I always wonder if the guys like Skov and Udvari (never saw them, started watching in the 80's) were really as good as we like to imagine they could replace the guys today.

I always thought McCreary was the best myself.
 
McGuillicuddy said:
I think the same is true of teachers and principals. Come to think of it, most employee/manager relationships can be described like this :).
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Probably becouse people higher up in command, not at all unlike politicians, often can not see the difference between incapable narcissistic d********* and a herd of cows. Especially if personal relationships or ties is involved.
 
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Any thoughts on Wally Harris? He was one of my favourites during my first few years watching the NHL. Also Art Skov (even though he was just a bit before my time watching the NHL)? Agreed with the other mentions and the list.

Who here misses having a favourite official? This is where with even the officials covering up in helmets and later shields really became a bit of a pet peeve for me concerning today's game (even though I got to see live on TV Terry Gregson learning the hard way about this with having Borje Salming run into him at Maple Leaf Gardens and suffering a nasty bonging as a result; then getting to see Sergio Momesso run into Terry the following season and Terry breaking his collarbone and being KO'ed even with the helmet on). Still, the buckets on the referees and linesmen took away that sense of familiarity with them and how they called the game.
 
billybudd said:
That the worst refs of their time are now the bosses is one reason officiating is so bad these days.
Click to expand...

McGuillicuddy said:
I think the same is true of teachers and principals. Come to think of it, most employee/manager relationships can be described like this :).
Click to expand...

Another way to look at it is that the truly worst of a given profession don't last very long. For someone to survive 20+ years as a referee, he has to have been an outstanding referee to at least a certain point. Same thing is true of teachers, managers, etc. If you're truly garbage at a job, you'll quickly be forgotten as the guy who came and went. If you've been around long enough to be remembered for a long list of ****-ups, you've done something right along the way.
 
I would go with Ashley and he wore #1 for a reason

http://www.legendsofhockey.net/Lege...em=o198101&type=Official&page=bio&list=ByName

All told, Ashley worked 605 games as a ref and another 17 on the line, 58 more playoff games and 350 minor pro assignments. From 1964 to '72 he was assigned every game seven of the playoffs, true testament to his reputation among both the NHL and the players. In 1971, he worked game seven of the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals, an unprecedented series of assignments under the greatest pressure imaginable for an official.
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Ashley after a game would go to a bar near the arena and mingle with fans.
 
Fenway said:
Ashley after a game would go to a bar near the arena and mingle with fans.
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Yes Ashley was terrific, total workhorse, #1 Ref in the NHL for years.... laid back & gregarious, one night in Chicago he awarded a Penalty Shot to Stan Mikita... who missed the net by about 8'. As he skated by, Ashley telling him "thats the last time I ever give you a chance like that"..... I also fondly remember John McCauley. Excellent Referee. Hard luck life in some respects. Was sucker punched by a crazed lunatic fan one night in a restaurant across from MSG (1981 I believe) causing major damage to one of his eyes, long road to recovery and then tragically his life was cut short by illness at just 44.... I also liked Paul Stewart, former WHA & NHL player who had a 10+yr pro career & who came from a long line of Referee's, both his father & grandfather before him...
 
If you're a millennial Leafs fan, it's Veal Scallopini aka Ray Scapinello at the top with Kerry Fraser above the back cover UPC.
 
ICM1970 said:
Any thoughts on Wally Harris? He was one of my favourites during my first few years watching the NHL. Also Art Skov (even though he was just a bit before my time watching the NHL)? Agreed with the other mentions and the list.

Who here misses having a favourite official? This is where with even the officials covering up in helmets and later shields really became a bit of a pet peeve for me concerning today's game (even though I got to see live on TV Terry Gregson learning the hard way about this with having Borje Salming run into him at Maple Leaf Gardens and suffering a nasty bonging as a result; then getting to see Sergio Momesso run into Terry the following season and Terry breaking his collarbone and being KO'ed even with the helmet on). Still, the buckets on the referees and linesmen took away that sense of familiarity with them and how they called the game.
Click to expand...

Wally "Let 'em play" Harris!

Could be a real Wild West show when he was officiating. Didn't care much for the whistle. But if your team got down a goal, lots of moaning about the open ice tackles that would occur.

Anyone mention Bill Friday in this thread? He seemed to always screw the home team, like a bad guy wrestler.
 
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