NHL: Best referee Wes McCauley goes by his own book to keep it ‘humble’
Wes McCauley keeps his good calls close and his bad calls closer.
Any time the veteran NHL referee is feeling too good or gets down on himself, he breaks out a binder full of his missed calls and looks through it.
“It’s a humbling book,” McCauley said. “Trust me, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. There’s times you wish you could saw your arm off.”
McCauley’s arms have signalled countless penalties, goals and no-goals since his NHL career began in 2003. Over the past 15 years, he has developed a reputation as not only the most animated referee in the game but the best in hockey based on his consistency, rapport with players and coaches and a demeanour that’s equal parts entertaining and professional.
In an NHLPA poll last spring, almost half of players chose McCauley as the league’s best referee, honouring a man in stripes who’s far more used to getting barked at than complimented.
“I don’t think I’m that good,” McCauley said. “My job’s just to officiate hockey games and to do the best I can, and to move on to the next game and, really, to stay out of the highlights.”
McCauley has his own highlight reels because he enjoys hamming it up when he makes announcements. When he reaches to his right hip to turn on the microphone, it’s mustsee entertainment.
His flair for the dramatic once sent former Rangers coach Alain Vigneault into a laughing fit on the bench, and it has been the subject of mocking from veteran officials for just how demonstrative he can be when whistling a penalty or waving off a goal. McCauley knows he’s more exuberant than he has to be, but that’s part of the fun for him and players.
“He’s real,” Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon said. “He’s obviously an animated guy and definitely calls a good game.”
McCauley earned the votes of 47.8 per cent of players as the NHL’s best referee, well ahead of Kelly Sutherland (17.7 per cent), Tim Peel (4.4 per cent), Dan O’Halloran (2.7 per cent) and Trevor Hanson (2.7 per cent). The 46-year-old from Georgetown, Ont., is the most popular and respected ref because he gets it right more often than not, apologizes when he doesn’t and explains his calls to players and coaches.
“Consistency. You kind of know what you’re getting with him,” Rangers forward Chris Kreider said. “In any sport when you talk about refereeing, if a ref isn’t very visible and prevalent and the game is decided by the players ultimately, then that’s a good ref and that’s Wes.”
McCauley gets that. He played four seasons at Michigan State from 1989-93, had a cup of coffee in the minors and figures his relationships with players from that era bought him the benefit of the doubt, and some of that still exists.