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Wes McCauley

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Wes McCauley
McCauley during a 2015 preseason game
Born (1972-01-11) January 11, 1972 (age 52)
Georgetown, Ontario, Canada
Alma materMichigan State University
OccupationIce hockey referee
Years active2003–present
EmployerNational Hockey League

Wesley McCauley (born January 11, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current National Hockey League (NHL) referee. He is the son of Irene and John McCauley, who was also an NHL referee.

A defenceman during his playing career, McCauley became a referee after injury forced his retirement from playing in 1997. He refereed his first NHL regular season game in 2003 and became a full-time NHL referee in 2005. As of the start of the 2024–25 season, he has officiated 1,369 regular season games and 206 playoff games including nine Stanley Cup Finals appearances.[1][a]

Early life and amateur career

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McCauley was born on January 11, 1972, in Georgetown, Ontario.[2] His father was John McCauley, a former NHL referee and the NHL's Director of Officiating at the time of his death in June 1989.[3][4]

McCauley entered Michigan State University and played as a defenseman for the university's team, the Spartans. He spent four years playing alongside his best friend Bryan Smolinski and together they co-captained the team in their final year.[5] McCauley won the inaugural Terry Flanagan Memorial Award at the end of his final season in 1993.[6]

Professional playing career

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Wes McCauley
Born (1972-01-11) January 11, 1972 (age 52)
Georgetown, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Las Vegas Thunder
Knoxville Cherokees
Muskegon Fury
Fort Wayne Komets
NHL draft 150th overall, 1990
Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 1993–1997

After his first year at Michigan State, McCauley was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the 8th round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft.[5] After graduating from university, he played minor league hockey with the Las Vegas Thunder and Fort Wayne Komets of the International Hockey League, the Knoxville Cherokees of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), the Muskegon Fury of the Colonial Hockey League and Milan in the Italian Serie A league.[7] He ended his playing career in 1997 due to injuries.[5]

Officiating career

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After retiring from playing, McCauley followed in his father's footsteps by becoming a referee. He started off refereeing minor league matches in Ontario, before progressing to the ECHL.[5] In 2001, he was hired by the NHL to officiate in the second-tier American Hockey League (AHL).[8] While with the AHL, McCauley refereed his first NHL game on January 20, 2003, a 5–1 win to the Columbus Blue Jackets against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks.[5][9][1] After being selected to officiate the AHL's Calder Cup Finals in 2004 and 2005, he was promoted to a full-time NHL referee for the 2005–2006 season.[8]

McCauley caught between Columbus Blue Jackets players during a March 2014 game against the New York Islanders

After two seasons as a full-time NHL referee, McCauley refereed his first playoff match in the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs, in the first match of the conference quarterfinal series between the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders on April 12, 2007.[10][11] In June 2013 he was selected as part of the officiating team for the NHL's 2013 Stanley Cup Finals between the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks.[3] McCauley has subsequently officiated the Stanley Cup Finals in 2014,[12] 2015,[13] 2016,[14] 2017,[15] 2018,[16] 2020,[17] 2022[18] and 2023.[1] He left game six of the 2019 Western Conference finals due to an injury, and was ineligible to work 2021 due to a positive COVID-19 test during the conference finals.[19][20] McCauley officiated his 1,000th NHL game on December 23, 2018.[21] When coming to center ice after penalties or video reviews, he is known for his suspenseful announcements of important results.[22][23][24]

Personal life

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McCauley is married with four children and lives in South Portland, Maine, where his wife Bethany grew up. His younger brother Blaine McCauley also played professional hockey. Wes was one of the referees in Blaine's professional debut in 2000.[5]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1988–89 St. Michael’s Buzzers MetJBHL 38 9 29 38 81 — — — — —
1989–90 Michigan State University CCHA 42 2 7 9 15 — — — — —
1990–91 Michigan State University CCHA 28 1 2 3 9 — — — — —
1991–92 Michigan State University CCHA 42 2 10 12 42 — — — — —
1992–93 Michigan State University CCHA 33 3 6 9 34 — — — — —
1993–94 Knoxville Cherokees ECHL 56 2 28 30 134 3 0 3 3 0
1993–94 Las Vegas Thunder IHL 2 0 0 0 4 — — — — —
1994–95 Muskegon Fury CoHL 63 9 31 40 70 13 7 7 14 4
1995–96 Muskegon Fury CoHL 41 17 21 38 46 5 3 11 14 0
1995–96 Fort Wayne Komets IHL 8 1 0 1 16 — — — — —
1996–97 HC Milano 24 Italy 10 2 4 6 26 6 0 0 0 12
1996–97 HC Milano 24 Alpenliga 18 1 6 7 30 — — — — —
IHL totals 10 1 0 1 20 — — — — —
CoHL totals 104 26 52 78 116 18 10 18 28 4

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The NHLOA lists ten SCF assignments, but he did not appear in the 2019 finals due to an injury sustained late in the previous round.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Wes McCauley | NHL Referee | NHL Officials Association". NHLOA. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  2. ^ "Wes McCauley". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Fraser, Kerry (June 12, 2013). "Ref McCauley Making His First Trip to Stanley Cup Final". TSN.ca. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  4. ^ Matsumoto, Rick (June 3, 1989). "NHL's John McCauley was 'a players' referee'". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Lenzi, Rachel (June 8, 2010). "NHL ref at home in South Portland". Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on November 15, 2016.
  6. ^ "CCHA Tournament". collegehockeynews.com. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  7. ^ "Wes McCauley". hockeydb.com. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  8. ^ a b "NHL promotes referees from AHL ranks". American Hockey League. August 23, 2005. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  9. ^ "Box score". Chicago Tribune. January 20, 2003. Archived from the original on April 15, 2003. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  10. ^ "Wes McCauley". nhlofficials.com. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  11. ^ "Game Summary". nhl.com. April 12, 2007. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  12. ^ "NHL Referees & Linesmen for Stanley Cup Final". Scouting the Refs. June 2, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  13. ^ "Referee Wes McCauley Mic'd Up for Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final". Scouting the Refs. June 4, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  14. ^ Fraser, Kerry (May 30, 2016). "C'Mon, Ref: The Stanley Cup final's third team". TSN.ca. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  15. ^ "NHL Referees and Linesmen for 2017 Stanley Cup Final". May 27, 2017.
  16. ^ "NHL Referees and Linesmen for 2018 Stanley Cup Final". scoutingtherefs.com. May 27, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  17. ^ "NHL Names 2020 Stanley Cup Final Referees and Linesmen". September 18, 2020.
  18. ^ "NHL Referees and Linesmen for 2022 Stanley Cup Finals". Scouting the Refs. June 13, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  19. ^ "SERAVALLI: Ice Breakers … Latest on Tarasenko, DeAngelo and Ekman-Larsson". Daily Faceoff. June 29, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021. Recognized as perhaps the NHL's best on-ice official, McCauley is missing a ninth straight Final assignment after being sidelined during Round 3 with a positive Covid-19 test.
  20. ^ "NHL playoffs 2019: Referee Wes McCauley leaves Game 6 with hamstring injury | Sporting News". www.sportingnews.com. May 22, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  21. ^ "Kings defeat Golden Knights on Toffoli goal in OT". National Hockey League. December 23, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  22. ^ Wyshynski, Greg (March 28, 2016). "NHL ref Wes McCauley with the most dramatic goal call ever (Video)". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  23. ^ Randall, Dakota (December 20, 2017). "NHL Ref Wes McCauley Back With Another Hilariously Dramatic Goal Call". New England Sports Network. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  24. ^ Schlager, Brandon (February 12, 2017). "Watch: NHL ref Wes McCauley gets extra pumped about fighting call". Sporting News. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Award Created
 Terry Flanagan Memorial Award
1992–93 		Succeeded by
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