Shick’s legs gave out before his love of hockey did
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A reedy phone line couldn’t mask the enthusiasm NHL referee Rob Shick had while describing the game he officiated Thursday at San Jose, a 4-3 comeback victory by Minnesota.
‘That was a pretty good game,’ he said. ‘San Jose was up, 3-0, and you thought Minnesota was going to fold their tent. But they tied it and won it in overtime and that’s what’s nice about the game in the new NHL. It used to be that if a team that was leading 3-1 in the third, the game was over.’
That was the next-to-last game of his officiating career and he enjoyed it as much as he loved his first game, on April 6, 1986. The Temecula resident will also enjoy his NHL finale today, when the Kings face the Minnesota Wild at Staples Center, as much as any other game he worked.
‘At 52 years old I just don’t move as quickly as I did,’ Shick said, laughing.
In truth, his departure was planned. He said that NHL officials have a succession planning program in which they decide how they’ll phase themselves out and give way to younger referees and linesmen. Three years ago he decided he’d reduce his workload to 60 last season and to 50 this season.
Today is game 50 of the season and regular-season game 1,321 of his career.
‘I have two boys, 10 and 13, and it’s time for me to become their dad instead of the father who sees them once a month,’ said Shick, part of a blended family that includes two children brought to the marriage by his wife, Dr. Lynda Frye, a radiologist in Newport Beach.
But Shick won’t be leaving hockey entirely. Last season he started scouting young officials in the minor leagues and he will continue to scout the American and East Coast hockey leagues to work with officials who are under contract to the NHL.
Among his fondest memories, he said, is working the outdoor game between the Kings and New York Rangers in 1991 in the parking lot outside Casears Palace in Las Vegas.
‘Kelly Hrudey wore the Hrudey-cam, Caesar drove the Zamboni and Cleopatra sang the national anthem,’ Shick said. ‘I remember Wayne Gretzky saying, ‘Shicker, I’ve seen a lot of things in my day but I’ve never seen anything like this.’’
He rented a bus to bring his friends and family from Temecula to Staples Center, and they’ll finish off the weekend with a barbeque for 70 to 80 people at his home in Temecula. ‘I have a lot of good memories,’ he said.
Fans will remember him as a hardworking guy who never put himself above the game that he still loves.
--Helene Elliott