Andy Van Hellemond

Andy Van Hellemond (born February 16, 1948, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) is a former National Hockey League referee and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame since 1999.

His NHL officiating career began in 1969 and included 19 Stanley Cup Finals. In 1984, he became the first NHL on-ice official to wear a helmet. Subsequently, several officials followed his lead and beginning with the 2006–07 NHL season, all NHL on-ice officials must wear helmets.

From the 1994-95 NHL season until his retirement in 1996, Van Hellemond wore uniform number 25, which is now worn by Marc Joannette.

Van Hellemond was involved in a rare case of a bad call by a referee resulting in a fine. During a game on May 14, 1995, Van Hellemond waved off a goal scored by Joe Sakic of the Quebec Nordiques, calling the play dead due to an apparent injury to New York's Alexei Kovalev. Kovalev was, in fact, not injured, and the puck had also entered the net before Van Hellemond's whistle sounded. At the time, video replay could not be used to determine if the whistle had sounded prior to the puck crossing the goal line. The Rangers eventually won the game in overtime to take a 3–1 series lead and later won the series in six games. Van Hellemond was fined by the NHL, who cited a "glaring error in judgment," according to the November 20, 2007 issue of The Hockey News.

After retiring, Van Hellemond went to the East Coast Hockey League, where he held a management position there until being hired by the NHL in 2000 to replace Bryan Lewis as Director of Officiating. Van Hellemond remained director of officiating until July 2004 when he resigned following misconduct allegations. Media reports indicated he was accused of approaching members of his officiating staff for personal financial loans to pay gambling debts. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=1839352 Papers question reasons for resignation] , espn.com, July 13, 2004]

Awards & Achievements

*MJHL First All-Star Team (1968)
*Selected as Manitoba's Referee of the Century
*Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999
*“Honoured Member” of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame

References

External links

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* [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_game/alan_adams/news/2000/09/26/adams_insider/ Van Hellemond becomes director of officiating]
* [http://www.mbhockeyhalloffame.ca/honoured/officials.html?category=13&id=260 Andy Van Hellemond's biography] at [http://www.mbhockeyhalloffame.ca/index.html Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame]