It has been almost three decades since the NHL took the names off the back of officialsB次元官网网址� jerseys and replaced them with numbers.

Since then, with the notable exception of Wes McCauley and his popular, flamboyant calls, most referees and linesmen generally fly under the radar and donB次元官网网址檛 mind the relative anonymity.

But itB次元官网网址檚 their lives away from the rink that humanize them to players and coaches, by building rapport and helping games go smoother.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 huge,B次元官网网址� referee Garrett Rank said. B次元官网网址淚t kind of puts you in a light of, B次元官网网址楬ey, this guyB次元官网网址檚 a normal human being.B次元官网网址� We like to say we get in the way of winning, so theyB次元官网网址檙e kind of always being hard on us and itB次元官网网址檚 nice just to have a little bit lighter of a conversation.B次元官网网址�

Rank is a mid-amateur golfer from Canada who qualified for the 2018 U.S. Open. Fellow ref Corey Syvret is a former minor league player who transitioned to a job he never thought heB次元官网网址檇 want. And linesman Ryan Daisy, fresh off working his first Stanley Cup Final, enjoys things away from hockey that can be the total opposite of working under the microscope on the ice.

GARRETT RANK

Growing up in a small town in southern Ontario, Rank played hockey in the winter and golf in the summer. As an adult, heB次元官网网址檚 able to do the same thing B次元官网网址� just replace playing with refereeing.

Rank wasnB次元官网网址檛 sure heB次元官网网址檇 be able to keep those separate passions going to this level: He has worked more than 450 NHL games and ranks 164th in the world among amateur golfers; he has reached as high as 34th.

Limited to eight to 10 rounds of golf during the hockey season, Rank identifies 70% as a referee and 30% with his other sport.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 fortunate enough to have a net and kind of a half-simulator in my garage, so I hit balls a bunch in there when IB次元官网网址檓 home,B次元官网网址� Rank said. B次元官网网址淚n the summer I play golf every day.B次元官网网址�

Rank finished fifth at the Crump Cup Memorial Tournament at Pine Valley in New Jersey. In 2012, he was one match at the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship from earning a spot at the Masters.

In between, Rank commuted between Hershey, Pennsylvania, for the American Hockey LeagueB次元官网网址檚 Calder Cup Final and the U.S Amateur Four-Ball Championship in Mamaroneck, New York, in 2016. He laid his referee gear out under his car to dry at prestigious Winged Foot Golf Club and worried heB次元官网网址檇 be asked not to return, but he and partner Patrick Christovich actually reached the semifinals.

As recently as this past spring, Rank was five holes into a U.S. Open qualifier to serve as the standby official for Game 1 of the second-round playoff series between Colorado and St. Louis.

Rank thinks golfing helps make him a better referee, specifically in making split-second decisions and handling the spotlight.

B次元官网网址淚n officiating, we get one look at it in really high speed and you have to make a decision and be really decisive,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎nd then I think just the pressure situations that come with being in a big hockey game or playing in a big golf tournament: just being susceptible to that for the whole year.B次元官网网址�

It also helps to have something outside hockey to talk about with avid golfers like , and VegasB次元官网网址� Mark Stone. He said golf comes up every game he works.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 always one guy that loves golf on each team, and theyB次元官网网址檒l always swing by and ask me if I played that morning or if IB次元官网网址檝e been playing or any good results in the summertime,B次元官网网址� Rank said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e kind of gotten to know the guys that like golf. I make it a point to use it to my advantage, kind of just to build some rapport and have a relationship with some stuff away from the hockey rink.B次元官网网址�

COREY SYVRET

Older brother Danny was already well on his way to a hockey career at age 15, and 11-year-old Corey Syvret wanted to follow his path. When the two worked out at the YMCA in Waterdown, Ontario, in the early 2000s they constantly ran into veteran NHL linesman Mark Shewchyk, a family friend who tried to talk them into officiating someday.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e thinking: B次元官网网址榃hy would I ever want to become an official? I want to play in the National Hockey League,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Corey recalled.

Like his brother and their father, Dave, he was picked in the NHL draft B次元官网网址� in 2007 in the sixth round by Florida B次元官网网址� but then his career stalled in the minors. Shewchyk kept telling Syvret it would be a good time to try a different path to the NHL.

Syvret agreed he would give it a shot but wanted to win at least one championship and did with the ECHLB次元官网网址檚 Alaska Aces in 2014. In his final few years playing, he kept a close eye on officials.

B次元官网网址淚 studied officiating as I was playing,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 was kind of watching how the guys worked, what I felt about that call, how I felt I could have done it better and just kind of gained some knowledge that way.B次元官网网址�

Syvret retired as a player following the 2016-17 season, impressed at the annual officials combine and made his NHL refereeing debut in the spring of 2018. Now 33, his mindset has switched from B次元官网网址渢rying to figure a way how to break the rules to how to enforce them,B次元官网网址� but he approaches training and preparing to officiate games the same way he did playing.

That includes Saturdays from noon to midnight and weeknights watching full slates of NHL games with his parents, one of the things Syvret enjoys since itB次元官网网址檚 work preparation as quality family time. When itB次元官网网址檚 not hockey season, heB次元官网网址檚 usually hanging out by the pool at his familyB次元官网网址檚 house with a radio hanging from the fence as he listens to Toronto Blue Jays baseball games, cycling, golfing or playing tennis.

B次元官网网址淛ust a lot of family and sports and thatB次元官网网址檚 whatB次元官网网址檚 gotten to me where I am right now,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 so fortunate to have a job like this that everything I do 24/7/365 are things that I love and are passions of mine.B次元官网网址�

RYAN DAISY

Daisy embraces the pressure of making important calls when games matter most. After the Stanley Cup is awarded, he also cherishes quiet time out in the open. Being on water B次元官网网址� frozen and otherwise B次元官网网址� is DaisyB次元官网网址檚 comfort zone.

B次元官网网址淲hen IB次元官网网址檓 on the boat and with my closest friends and with my family members, I just feel beyond relaxed,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 feel like any eyes are on me. No oneB次元官网网址檚 judging me, and IB次元官网网址檓 not being picked apart and I can just really kind of sit back and relax and not even think about hockey.B次元官网网址�

The Boston-area native, who now lives with his wife in Montreal, already has worked more than 400 regular-season and playoff games since being promoted to a full-time linesman. Listening to music and podcasts while working out helps relieve stress, though Daisy has gotten better about leaving his hotel on the road to explore cities.

Daisy says he can remember the biggest call he blew in his career. It was the first round of the ECHL playoffs, and he and the two referees missed a match penalty, with the player who shouldB次元官网网址檝e been ejected scoring the tying goal.

B次元官网网址淚 got back in the car that night and thought I was going to have to sell my equipment on eBay the next morning,B次元官网网址� Daisy recalled. B次元官网网址淵ou never want to be put in that situation. And thatB次元官网网址檚 why I think at this level, itB次元官网网址檚 bringing your best every single night. ItB次元官网网址檚 not easy to do.B次元官网网址�

ItB次元官网网址檚 not easy to make big calls in the Cup final, which Daisy worked last season for the first time when Colorado beat Tampa Bay. He acknowledged he has still never come off the ice thinking he worked a perfect game, and he takes pride in reviewing his performances much like a player.

And much like a player, heB次元官网网址檚 happy to get away from the game when heB次元官网网址檚 off the clock. Hiking with his wife is another outlet that gets Daisy away from his job.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just her and I out in nature, and itB次元官网网址檚 our own timeline,B次元官网网址� Daisy said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 kind of like our own rulebook. B次元官网网址� ThereB次元官网网址檚 no real rules, and itB次元官网网址檚 a lot of freedom.B次元官网网址�

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Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press

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