When talking about active NHL officials, there’s no one more legendary than Wes McCauley. He made his officiating debut in the NHL almost 20 years ago and has been one of– if not the most–respected refs in hockey for many years.
McCauley has officiated in more than 1000 games in the world’s best hockey league and has been voted the best referee by the NHL players. It wouldn’t be a Stanley Cup playoff without Wes in it, and he still dominates when on the ice.
As a result, the players show him some great respect, and that’s not so strange, given the right amount of fair and correct calls he makes almost every night.
But he’s not only so popular because of the calls on the ice, but perhaps more because of how he acts. He has the magical ability to make awesome calls, and when he’s mic’d up, there’s always some fun stuff. And this year’s playoffs are no exception.
During the Game 7 of the first-round series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning, McCauley was asked by Nikita Kucherov why he became a referee.
His response was pure gold.
“I was a shit hockey player,” McCauley said.
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