Ray Scapinello

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Ray Scapinello in 2008

Raymond "Ray" Angelo Joseph Scapinello (born November 5, 1946 in Glen Christie , Ontario ) is a former Canadian ice hockey official . The Linesman, who was active in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 33 seasons and participated in 2,500 championship games, is considered to be the person with the most on-ice appearances in the history of the NHL since 1917. He surpassed the 1,765 appearances of Gordie Howe , who is considered the player with the most in the NHL and also participated in 33 seasons in the highest North American ice hockey league, by a considerable margin. In addition to his 2,500 league appearances, he was also in 426 play-off games, as well as twenty Stanley Cup finals and was linesman in three NHL All-Star Games .

In 2008 he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the referee category .

life and career

Ray Scapinello was born on November 5, 1946 as the son of the couple Dorothy and George "Sonny" Scapinello in the small village of Glen Christie, between the larger towns of Guelph and Hespeler , in the Canadian province of Ontario. In the village, which was built around a quarry and at that time only had about 80 inhabitants, the majority of whom worked in the Domtar factory, he grew up next to his older sister Dianna and younger brother Dougie. He started playing ice hockey in his childhood and got his nickname "Scampy" during this time, by which he was known during his long time in the National Hockey League. He got the name "Scampy" because of his relatively small height and his extraordinary talent on the ice. Although his great talent, he never made the leap into professional sport, but played in Canada on an amateur or semi-professional level. He was active as a minor ice hockey player in the neighboring town of Hespeler and later played in Guelph, where he had moved with his family when he was 13, in the men's team of the Guelph Regals , before ending his career as a player at the age of 21. He went on to pursue a career as an official after Mel McPhee, fellow referee Bill McCreary's future father-in-law, persuaded him to do so, and joined the Guelph Hockey Referee Association (GHRA) in the late 1960s .

In the following years he was active as an official in amateur and junior leagues, before he attended the referee school of Bruce Hood from 1968 , who himself had only been in the NHL since 1963. He then served as a referee in an illegal junior league and a little later in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA). Soon after that, he also played in the American Hockey League (AHL), while he still had a full-time position in Guelph during the week. It was during his time at the OHA that Scapinello was discovered by then NHL officials and later Hall of Fame members Frank Udvari and Scotty Morrison . The two were positive about Scapinello's activity as a referee, which is why they prompted him to be invited in 1970 to the NHL Officials' Camp , a camp where any NHL officials are selected. Here, however, he was not signed, but remained undaunted and returned a year later to the NHL Officials' Camp , whereupon it was enough for an invitation to the NHL Rookie Camp , as well as a contract in the NHL and he was a 24-year-old from the National Hockey League (NHL) for the 1971/72 season . He made his debut as an NHL official on October 17, 1971 in the game of the Buffalo Sabers against the Minnesota North Stars in Buffalo , New York .

In his 33-year career in the National Hockey League, he never missed a game, be it due to illness or injury. Over the years he has appeared in twenty Stanley Cup final series (1980-1981, 1983-1986, 1988-2000 and 2004) and was involved in 426 play-off games and three NHL All-Star Games . During his time as an active player, Ray Scapinello, who was always without a helmet on the ice and was noticeable for his speed, was expelled with a height of 1.74 m and a weight of 74 kg. On February 26, 1997, when Steve Sullivan played his first game for the Toronto Maple Leafs , Scapinello completed his 2000th game as an official in the encounter between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Washington Capitals . A little more than seven years later he ended his career after 33 years in the NHL when he gave his 2500 game anniversary at the home game of the Buffalo Sabers against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 2, 2004. His career in the NHL began and ended in the same city. While still active, he worked, among other things, as an official at the ice hockey competition at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano .

After retiring from his career, he founded the Ray Scapinello Foundation in 2006 , through which he helps students from the Guelph area to finance their education. There is also the annual Ray Scapinello Road Hockey Tournament , where money is raised for local charities. Furthermore, he is also a supporter in the fight against cancer , which is also omnipresent in his family and friends. His father died of cancer, his sister-in-law Patricia "Patty" Ann Rogers and his brother-in-law Douglas "Doug" Flaherty of brain tumors . Furthermore, he had been working as a supervisor in the Central Hockey League (CHL), which was discontinued in 2014, since the end of his career and in 2006, together with the Canadian sports reporter and author Rob Simpson, published the book Between the Lines: Not-So-Tall Tales From Ray “Scampy “Scapinello's Four Decades out in the NHL . Two years later, in recognition of his 33 years in the highest North American ice hockey league, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the referee category .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ray Scapinello on The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation's official website , accessed September 7, 2016
  2. ↑ Patty Rogers' death notice , accessed on September 7, 2016
  3. ↑ Douglas Flaherty on Mountlawn Cemetery accessed (English), on September 7, 2016
  4. ↑ Ray Scapinello Inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame ( Memento of the original from April 17, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English), accessed September 7, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.centralhockeyleague.com
personal data
SURNAME Scapinello, Ray
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Scapinello, Raymond Angelo Joseph (full name); Scampy (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian ice hockey referee
DATE OF BIRTH November 5, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Glen Christie , Ontario , Canada