Alright guys, here's the deal. I know that a lot of you have seen what was termed as my Twitter "hissy fit" with Greg Whyshynski the last couple of days. I should have let it go a lot sooner than I did, but its hard to stand idly by and watch someone that you respect get torched and know that they cannot defend themselves. That being said, I regret nothing that was written over that exchange.
I'm not implying that I am Tim Peel's personal crusader. Frankly, it doesn't matter to me who that article was about. I didn't do or say what I did because it was Tim Peel, I said what I did because it was about a fellow official. Don't get me wrong, I am well aware that I am NOT on the same level as Mr. Peel, hell I'm not even on the same level as most of you that will read this. What I am saying is that I will always defend anyone who puts on the stripes. To me it doesn't matter if you're a 15 year old kid who's out there for the first time, or a 14 year NHL veteran that's headed to the Olympic Games. We are all part of the same team.
We stick together. It doesn't matter how far apart we are, hell it doesn't even matter what country we're in. We are a team. That means that when one of us takes a cheap shot we are there to back them up, fight for them if need be. That's what I did. I'd do it again and I plan to if the need ever arises. Something that was told to me in my first game with the ref who is now my mentor was, "No matter what, I've got your back. If you go out there and call a 'double-dribble', I will stand behind you". Had I, I'm sure that we would have had a talk after the game about it, but the point is we can't throw a teammate under the bus. A lot of times its us versus the world and the only one you can rely on is your partner(s).
I think the word used that convinced me to write this was "stubborn". That's not accurate. I'm not being stubborn the word would be "conviction". I firmly believe everything that I have written. I'm sure its a little naïve, but if we don't stand up for each other no one else will.
So, in the end it doesn't matter to me that this article was written about Tim Peel, it matters that it was written about any one of us. Call me what you will, naïve, stubborn, an idealist, but know this. If you wear the stripes I will always be in your corner. We may not agree, we may not even like each other, but if you wear them like I do I will always be behind you 100% and without question. I've got your back. #TeamStripes
This blog is in response to the Greg Wyshynski blog on Puck Daddy "The Adventures of Tim Peel". In this blog he states three instances over the course of this season that he has, to put it lightly, not agreed with Mr. Peel. Each one he sees more egregious than the last. I personally have not seen the calls in question, but the validity of the calls are not what I am arguing here. I would like to make the point that this article is a total hack job on Mr. Wyshynski's part.
I myself am a USA Hockey Official. I am no where near the level that Mr. Peel is, nor will I ever be. At the same time, to wear the stripes is to be part of a community, a brotherhood (sisterhood too) if you will. We know that we all have great games and games that we want to crawl into a hole and die over. The problem is great games for us means no one notices and the bad games everyone notices. We've all had them. You won't find a Ref/Linesman at any level iof this sport that will tell you he hasn't. Ok, so let's get to it.
A little background. Tim Peel (NHL Referee #20) has been a member of the NHLOA (that's the National Hockey League Official's Association, for those of you on the outside) since 1995. He has been a NHL contracted Referee since 1999. That's 14 years of NHL experience, not to mention the countless hours/years at levels ranging from youth leagues, juniors, and into the minor leagues. Mr. Peel has more than 60 Stanley Cup Playoff games to his credit and has been selected to work the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi. These are not assignments that the powers that be hand out to those doing sub-par work.
The Whyshynski War with Peel has gone back some time. There are other articles dealing with the incompetency of Mr. Peel. This one I though was absolutely classless. At this point it just seems that A) Whyshynski is on a personal crusade, or B) continually throwing Tim Peel under a bus because it brings in the reader and therefore sells ads for Yahoo!.
I was asked on Twitter tonight if I could link the article to a friend and follower. I obliged the request ReTweeting Mr. Whyshynski's own post with my own addition of "disgraceful". Mr. Whyshynski then interjected his own response. We had quite a lengthy exchange until he called me "phony" (in context I'd assume he meant phony official) and ran away. I asked him how many games he has laced up the skates to call with no response. I believe that the answer is a resounding 0. There in lies my entire point and what will continue to be an ongoing theme within this blog. Until you have done the job that we do night after night keep your mouth shut and leave the officiating to those with the crest on their chest. Its not as easy as it looks, trust me. We all miss things everyone of us will tell you that. There's 17,000 square feet of ice out there for us to watch and most of the time there's only 2 sets of eyes (in my case 1 set) watching all that's going on. That's not an excuse but a fact. We aren't perfect, we don't claim to be. The point is maybe instead of scapegoating the referee the next time a call doesn't go your way maybe you think about how much we love this game as well. Probably even more than you, the fan. We are out there because of our love and our passion for this game. I promise you that it's not because we want to ruin it. No ref has ever put that sweater on and said "I'm here to mess this up". Its about pride and integrity for us. If we don't have our integrity then we have nothing. That's what Greg Whyshynski took from Tim Peel.
Continuing to trash officiating is bad for the sport as a whole. It makes every officials job that much harder. I'm not saying just that of the NHL officials, but every official at every level of the game. This is where the abuse of officials stems from (not talking about the specific rule here). People see media like Mr. Whyshynski trash a Ref and then they believe that its ok for them to do it as well. This turns into abuse by parents and coaches of officials. This is not ok.
