Congratulations to NHL Linesman Ryan Galloway on working 1000 National Hockey League games.
His milestone achievement came when he took the ice for Friday’s game between the St. Louis Blues and Jets in Galloway’s hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Galloway took the ice alongside fellow linesman Mark Wheler and referees Tom Kowal and Brad Meier.
Galloway made his NHL debut on October 17, 2002, working a game between the Florida Panthers and Chicago Blackhawks. His first playoff game came between the Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks on April 13, 2011. Galloway has also had the honor of working the 2016 Heritage Classic (Oilers vs. Jets), the 2016 Stadium Series game in Minnesota (Blackhawks vs. Wild), and the 2014 Stadium Series game in New York’s Yankee Stadium (Rangers vs. Islanders)
From the NHLOA:
The native of Winnipeg, Manitoba started officiating at the early age of 12 in the St.James district of Winnipeg. He felt in love with the profession quickly and decided then to make it a dream of his to be an NHL official one day. He would go on and work every level of Hockey Manitoba.
The spring of 1996 saw the original Winnipeg Jets being relocated to Phoenix, AZ creating a big commotion among the hockey community in Winnipeg. That same summer, a group of Canadian Businessmen from Winnipeg bought an International Hockey League (IHL) team from St.Paul Minnesota named the Minnesota Moose and relocated the team in Winnipeg in order to fill the void left by the Jets moving to the Arizona’s desert. When the IHL looked at the top prospect linesmen in the Winnipeg area back then to work the new Manitoba Moose team’s home games, Galloway’s name was at the top of the list and he was hired by the IHL. He worked the top levels of hockey in Manitoba, including the Juniors with a few games a month in the IHL until the 2000 season where the IHL merged with the American Hockey League.
His hard work and dedication to the game were rewarded in the summer of 2002 at the age of 30 when the National Hockey League offered him a minor league linesman contract. He would go on and work a full year between the AHL and the NHL as a minor league contracted official before getting promoted to a full-time NHL linesman status the following summer. Galloway was part of the officiating crew on October 9th, 2011 that worked the first home game of the newly relocated Winnipeg Jets. The officiating crew that night was composed of the three Winnipeg native officials on the NHL officiating team at the time; referee Rob Martell and linesmen Ryan Galloway and Vaughan Rody. Referee Brad Meier from Saskatoon completed the crew that night.
Congrats to linesman Ryan Galloway on 1000 NHL games!
