Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
The NHL does educate its officials. But its draws from a pool of officials from lower leagues, and that pool isn't anything close to as large as the NFL. Hockey as a sport has a real problem attracting and keeping officials. The fact they have to be quite good athletes themselves immediately makes many of the kinds of educated spectators who ref other sports (like football) ineligible. Add to that the very high burnout rate among young refs in junior and minor hockey because of abuse from fans and coaches, and it's a real problem.
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The culture of abuse towards officials in the NHL is probably my least favourite aspect of the sport.
Coming from baseball and rugby, the idea that you could somehow tell a ref to #### off and have it not IMMEDIATELY mean consequences for you and your team is crazy to me.
The idea you can actually petition the ref for leniency or fairness is a foundational attack on the legitimacy and integrity of the game itself.
Basically, to be a fan of NHL hockey you have to be accepting that games are not a black and white winner and loser but instead a managed piece of theatre.