NHL Referees The New Big Brother?

August 19th, 2010 by Kyle W. Brown Leave a reply »
As the 2010 NHL Research, Development and Orientation Camp continues to take place in Toronto, the referees are trying out a new system as well.

The new idea keeps two referees officiating the game, but only one actually on the ice. The other, well, he stands perched over the glass watching the game from above.

The idea behind it is that with one referee off the ice, it will reduce traffic and give one official a broader view on which to find infractions that may have happened well behind the play, after the whistle, or near the benches (just what we need, more too many men penalties.)

The referees are unsure of it's success, however. Scott Ferguson, the referee who tried it today, said that he had a bad vantage point of the ends of the rink, and did not feel that his view was any better than from the ice, according to NHL.com.

Regardless, Ferguson called five penalties in the game, and said that the other obstacle to overcome, communicating with the on-ice official, was easy once it got used to.

Overall, the idea was pretty weird, and it doesn't seem that the referees were necessarily sold on it. Add into that poor sight lines for fans ...

Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
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