NHL referee Greg Kimmerly has spent nearly 20 years in the National Hockey League. With that kind of tenure, you’d think the guy would earn some time off around the holidays. Instead, Kimmerly has shipped off to Switzerland, where he’ll be officiating the Spengler Cup Tournament in Davos.
There’ll also be some NHL influence in the oversight of the officials. Former NHL Director of Officiating Terry Gregson will assist the tournament’s Head of Officiating, Beat Kaufman, and Referee-in-Chief Brett Reiber in overseeing the on-ice officials.
“He will be an interesting contact for us officials”, says Kaufmann of Gregson’s participation.
Two current NHL officials have worked the Spengler Cup prior to suiting up in the NHL. Referee Kendrick Nicholson worked the 2014 Spengler Cup prior to making his NHL debut. Graham Skilliter worked the 2012 tournament.
The Spengler Cup is a six-team invitation tournament held in Davos, Switzerland. This year’s participants include Swiss champion HC Davos, Team Canada, German champions Adler Mannheim, HC Lugano, and two KHL teams — Jokerit Helsinki and Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg.
The 89th Spengler Cup tournament gets underway on December 26 and runs through New Year’s Day.
Referees
Mikko Kaukokari (SM-Liiga, FIN), Greg Kimmerly (NHL), Daniel Stricker (Swiss League), Marcus Vinnerborg (Swiss League), Tobias Wehrli (Swiss League)
Linesmen
Cedric Borga, Nicolas Fluri, Balazs Kovacs, Peter Kung, Michael Tscherrig
