Switching uniforms
Former RMU women’s defenseman takes unexpected shot at being an NHL official
Twenty minutes after officiating her final game at the Prospects Challenge last week in Buffalo, N.Y., Kirsten Welsh still couldn’t believe she had just been on the ice blowing her whistle at the top prospects, including New Jersey’s Jack Hughes, skating for the four NHL teams in the annual tournament.
No, it wasn’t because Welsh was the lone woman in stripes there.
Let’s just say that during Welsh’s standout playing career at Robert Morris, at least the early stages, she didn’t exactly see eye to eye with the officials.
“Freshman year, I led the NCAA in penalty minutes. So …” she said.
Make no mistake, Welsh can play. She was College Hockey America’s defender of the year as a junior and good enough to earn a tryout for Canada’s national team. But she also spent enough time in the penalty box that she was on a first-name basis with most of the league’s officials when she graduated in May.
“If you had asked me a year ago if I’d be doing this, I’d have probably said that you were crazy,” the 22-year-old said, with a laugh. “It’s just so ironic.”
Welsh turned heads at the Prospects Challenge, mostly because of the ponytail dangling out the back of her helmet, not her performance as a linesman.
Women are already wearing whistles for NBA and NFL games. A few are calling baseball games at the Class AAA level. But until last week, no woman had officiated in a competitive NHL setting, let alone a regular-season game.
The NHL is trying to change that. NHL director of officiating Stephen Walkom is pushing to have at least one woman become a full-time official in the near future. That’s why Welsh and 10 other women were among the 89 newcomers invited to attend the NHL’s annual officials scouting combine in August in Buffalo.
Becoming an official was not on Welsh’s radar until recently. After finishing her RMU career with 34 goals, 57 assists and 259 penalty minutes, she wasn’t ready to hang up her skates. She considered playing professionally in the National Women’s Hockey League, but its instability gave her pause. Then RMU assistant coach Logan Bittle, a close friend, shot her a message.
Looking to recruit and develop more young officials to the sport, Walkom and the NHL have been eyeing men and women who recently finished college careers. Walkom reached out to Bittle, wanting to know about Welsh.
“Logan asked if I had an interest in doing this,” she said. “And I went for it.”
Of course. Welsh has never been one to back down from a challenge.
Welsh grew up along a dirt road in Blackstock, Ontario, a small town about an hour northeast of Toronto. She mostly played organized hockey with boys until they reached their early teens and the difference in size became significant.
Welsh, who now is 5 feet 11 and a lean 170 pounds, towered over most of the girls and wasn’t shy about putting her bigger frame to use. She protected her blue line and her goalies, took a bunch of penalties and earned a reputation.
“I was always referred to as a goon,” she said. “Being rough and tough, I’ve never hesitated going into anything really. It’s bit me in the ass a few times.”
While playing junior hockey for Whitby of the Provincial Women’s Hockey League in Ontario, Welsh was seriously recruited by several schools, including RMU. She picked the Colonials partly because of Pittsburgh’s proximity to home.
She absolutely loved it. Her parents could drive down most weekends. RMU felt like “a small community” to the small-town girl while still being 20 minutes from Downtown. And the program, coaches and teammates were
“unbelievable.”
After graduating, she decided to stick around. Her day job is client services representative at Allegheny Petroleum. She also coaches and, now, is an official. Which, as her friends have been noting in text messages, is kind of hilarious.
Welsh says she learned to tone down her physical play as her RMU career went on. And by her senior year, she was “respectfully” barking at officials less often. But old buddies and former teammates are still amused by her new ambitions.
“Making this transition, I definitely have a lot more respect for [their job],” she said. “I took a lot of them for granted for how much they actually have to know and think about consistently. [This experience] just opens up your eyes.”
The officials scouting combine last month was the first time Welsh wore stripes, other than filling in for the occasional house league game back in the day. Part of the three-day camp included getting on the ice with NHL officials, who stood next to participants such as Welsh during informal games and provided pointers.
Then came the Prospects Challenge, which pitted four teams of prospects, including a Penguins squad, in organized, competitive games. Gloves got dropped in two Penguins games. Welsh wasn’t shy about jumping into the fray.
She also bumped into a former teammate during one New Jersey game.
“I played on Evan Cormier’s team when I was probably 8 or 10. He was the goalie for the Devils out there,” she said. “I didn’t even know he was their goalie. I saw his name and was like, ‘Wait a minute!’ I had to tell him to switch ends and was like, ‘Hey, buddy.’ He said, ‘Hey, I didn’t know you reffed.’ Yeah. Yeah, I do.”
Welsh isn’t sure what the future, near or far, will hold for her. She was thrilled by the experience in Buffalo and is inspired by Walkom’s enthusiasm and passion, “seeing how badly he wants women in the NHL reffing.” But she has not closed the door on playing professionally either, should the NWHL stabilize.
Some of the participants of the officials scouting combine will get opportunities to officiate games at the minor league and college levels. It’s not out of the question that a standout could be officiating a real NHL game this upcoming season.
Welsh is back in Pittsburgh now, working her day job and hoping to pick up as many games as possible, regardless of level, so she can add experience.
“I’m just going to be open to all paths. I’m really excited about what the future may hold,” Welsh said. “The NHL has done an amazing job hosting us and opening this path. I’m excited about what the future could hold for our gender.”