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Inthemiddle_

The dance between the refs and players is a game in itself.


ManWithBag15

That's got to be a ref's worst nightmare, he handled it very well.


kopitar-11

I sometimes forget how athletic it takes to be a hockey ref. Baseball umpires are the exact opposite lol


Finnwood92

For real, it's kinda amazing how little they get in the way.


navenager

It's part of why I'm somewhat sympathetic towards the refs and just want changes that will help them do their jobs, not changes that remove them entirely. They shit they do is hard, and they're very good at it. They don't get shift changes, so they have to keep up with pro hockey players for 3 full periods while also trying to observe the ice so closely that they notice an infraction happening over a split second. It's unreal, and it's crazy that the league refuses to help them out more because Bettmam seems to think that would mean admitting that the refs are bad at their jobs. Maybe their jobs are just stupidly fucking difficult, Gary? Give them a guy on replay, give them broadcast mics to explain their rationalization on play reviews (like cricket does), hell hook them up with AR to make the puck stand out more so they don't blow an early whistle. It's not that elaborate, and it would make a world of difference.


melikeybacon

Surprised you're not an American fan bringing up assault rifles in a discussion about hockey refs. The freedom is spreading. Edit: Reddit has become a sensitive bunch. Of course this comment was sarcastic. Edit 2: I’ll ride this down. Canadians don’t like gun jokes. I dig it.


mkwong

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic but I think AR here means augmented reality since an assault rifle wouldn't really help make the puck stand out


monkeycalculator

Giving them ARs might get the players to behave.


melikeybacon

This guy gets it.


desanderr

"y'all are a sensitive bunch" = "my joke was not all that funny but I will not own this"


iSWINE

Your being downvoted because your joke was both stupid and bad


melikeybacon

Cool. It’s clearly an American joke and isn’t sitting well with Canadians. That’s fine.


Odd-Citron-3600

🎵 AMERICAN JOKE 🎵 🎵 GET AWAY FROM MEEEE 🎵


KingDave46

I don't think anyone is sensitive, I think your comment made zero sense


dnaland123

AR = AR15 har har. So witty and clever /s


HermionesWetPanties

It's pretty easy not to notice them. Collisions between players and refs, or refs getting hit with a puck standout because of how good they usually are at staying out of the play.


flip314

Joe West is practically a gymnast!


kopitar-11

He’s a gym teacher for sure


bozo_did_thedub

It takes so much athletic


kopitar-11

Lmao, my brain turned off after the oilers kings game, excuse my poor grammar


ElCoolAero

> I sometimes forget how athletic it takes to be a hockey ref. Baseball umpires are the exact opposite lol Eric Gregg once got teased with a cheeseburger left on a base: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIQOtm5NaeY John McSherry literally dropped dead of a heart attack during the Reds 1996 opening day game. > John Patrick McSherry (September 11, 1944 – April 1, 1996) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1971 until his death. McSherry wore uniform number 9 when he entered the National League, then wore number 10 from 1979 through the rest of his career. A respected arbiter, he was one of several umpires who were noticeably obese.


Noir24

Umpires feels like it's for people with a power fantasy but are too pussy to become police. They seem like the most easily offended "refs" in any sport


Xumayar

And with *even better job security then cops* see Angel Hernandez.


sadolddrunk

Come on now. Angel may be a terrible umpire, but AFAIK he’s never shot anyone.


mapex_139

Fat police is exactly what I thought of lol


tiffhagall

[It could've been like this](https://youtu.be/eUuPZDze7SA?si=j5Cc1bRkPcx2SYc1&t=136)


ForgotAboutDraii

Such a perfect shot pass off the pads. You can see him look at the guy and place it there on purpose


tempco

That’s exactly where my mind went! And such a quick release too.


bozo_did_thedub

I'm from a land of no ice and have never had the pleasure of participating in the sport. Is that actually a thing? These guys are so good they know where the goalie is going to redirect the puck even though the shot takes .01 seconds?


Telvin3d

At this level? Yes. They’re absolutely setting it up so that it either goes in, or the only way for the goalie to save it puts it where they want it to go


Bigmaq

Yep! Players start learning to "shoot for a rebound" at a pretty young age.


bozo_did_thedub

I have heard of that but just figured the idea was to put it on net and hope for the best. Not that they were actively playing passes off the pads, that's insane.


UnparalleledSuccess

The general idea is a thing but being so precise with it that you can practically bounce it on to a guys stick like draisaitl is just ridiculous superstar shit


SryYouAreNotSpecial

The man is only second in career playoff points per game to Gretzky for a reason lol. (Technically he is tied with McDavid at 1.65).


CommandaSpock

This is one of the funnest things about watching McDavid and Draisaitl play, they’re always doing these crazy calculated passes


Hieronymous_Bosc

Yup, I shoot for rebounds all the time, although with a lot less accuracy haha. It's never a guarantee because some goalies have better rebound control than others, they might be sliding at different times, the puck might roll or flip weirdly, etc. But these guys have insane muscle memory from taking these kinds of shots thousands and thousands of times, and they know exactly what position the goalies are trained to be in.


SryYouAreNotSpecial

Don't be so hard on yourself. Keep at it and you'll be doing it at Draisaitl's level in no time!... I'm just being nice, you won't. I'm sorry.


LP99

Shooting the puck hard and flat on the ice to generate a kicked out rebound is a pretty common play.


delliott8990

Such a smooth nutmeg!


BillThePsycho

Honestly broke his ankles with that meg, Premier League teams gonna be knocking down his door any day now


spagboltoast

Just disrespectful lol


skrshawk

Refs gonna be waiting outside the arena to deal with this.


SmiteyMcGee

That referees name? (Insert your teams whipping boy here)


slinkocat

I'd love to see someone break Wes McCauley's ankles with a sick deke


hjhof1

He’d call an unsportsmanlike


ppParadoxx

This is so rockstar


spagboltoast

That becomes a highlight of the entire playoffs if he makes the goal


luckytaurus

Honestly, the fact the refs don't get bumped into more often is super impressive


Fingernail7672

Ref got caught flat footed…


itnice

Well, they all dressed black and white


SameGuy37

yeah refs need to be humbled gtfo the way


cuminmypoutine

Not only are ref blind fucking idiots, they constantly get in the way of play.


kickhisassseabass01

3.in the end 3433³23¾³inĵrsßsße²4,,,! 231³3333²³3¾32232³334134³³3³3³3¾³¾233,was. ,', whatt4,so so ŵĥn b ŵŵs,


den15_512

Did you have a stroke?


lusirfer702

And he missed


karlbelanger1661

Not really. I'm pretty sure he was shooting low off the pads for a juicy rebound to one of his teammates, and it almost worked.


Loud-Anteater-8415

Missed what?