Shick goes from striped shirt to shirt and tie
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Former NHL referee Rob Shick of Temecula, who retired in March after officiating more than 1,300 games, has become an officiating supervisor for the league and will mentor young officials in his new job.
Shick said Monday he will attend a lot of games in Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose and possibly Dallas as he helps evaluate the performance of on-ice officials.
His new role has taken some adjusting, he said, but he’s enjoying it. ‘I can make my own schedule, for the first time in 25 years,’ he said. ‘I really like that part.’
It’s good to see that the NHL was smart enough to keep him on board. Shick was always well-regarded by players and accommodating in explaining rulings to players and media. West Coast games don’t always have supervisors on hand, so it can only help to have someone closely monitor the quality of the officiating here.
Shick and fellow retiree Don Koharski are saluted on the back cover of the 2009-10 NHL rule book, along with posthumous tributes to two recently deceased former officials, Art Skov and John Ashley. The front cover features this year’s Hall of Fame inductees: players Luc Robitaille, Brett Hull, Brian Leetch and Steve Yzerman, and executive honoree Lou Lamoriello.
-- Helene Elliott