Quote:
Originally Posted by sketchyt
I think as the game speeds up, the more difficult it becomes to be a ref. This is why we are seeing such frustratation with reffing.
Some valid points discussed in this thread, but ultimately I believe an NHL referee is the toughest officiant-related job in professional sports.
This game is insanely fast. I changed my tune on NHL referees after sitting next to the glass one game and from my peripheral vision saw Matt Stajan get blatantly high sticked in the face. I saw it happen a few feet from me.
But it was so incredibly fast that my brain paused for a full couple seconds before I could even comprehend that it was a high stick. The puck was already well into the other zone before I could think, "hey, that was a high stick!"
I can't imagine how the pro's do it. I don't care that there's four of them out there. There's no way you'll be able to catch everything or close to it.
Hockey is a game with too many variables too. There's a f-ton of rules, sticks, the speed of skating, a tiny puck, the little games within the game, unwritten rules, etc... this game is (wonderfully) insane. I feel like trying to put more rigour around policing insanity will create more frustration.
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A long time ago I reffed basketball - way slower, but still hard to catch, ID a penalty and blow a play down. Another guy told me "If you see something that looks wrong, blow it down and then figure out what it was". It seemed like good advice - not sure if it works for hockey.