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How Swede it is: NHL hires its first European-trained on-ice official

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The NHL announced Thursday it had hired its first European-trained referee, Sweden’s Marcus Vinnerborg, and the only possible response was, what took NHL officials so long?

The league has lost some of its most experienced and best officials over the last few seasons, as Kerry Fraser, Don Koharski, Rob Shick, Dan Marouelli and others have hit retirement age. There aren’t enough senior officials to pair with younger ones, and the quality of the officiating has suffered.

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Going to Europe for capable and authoritative replacements is a course that should have been tried years ago.

Good luck to Vinnerborg and all who follow him.

-- Helene Elliott

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