thought about my new status as a second- or third-teir official and what I could do about it. I knew I still loved being on the ice and still loved the game. There had to be a way. I tried a few.

Mentorship

The young officials in the association were good. I mean, they were really good. I have honestly never seen a collection of such fine young officials. I thought about how to compete with their youthful enthusiasm, energy, and ability to learn. I realized that competing with a 17-year-old on the grounds of energy was a non-starter.

So I decided not to compete with them at all.

I decided to become a mentor. I would really make an effort to help them improve, to help them develop as officials. I would be the on-ice coach who can be a big help to a young official.

In some cases that worked. In most, it did not.

Continued...