Referee Mike Sullivan will make his National Hockey League officiating debut on Sunday when he takes the ice in Calgary for Flames vs. Arizona Coyotes. 

Sullivan, wearing #47,  will suit up alongside referee Kendrick Nicholson (#30) and linesmen Travis Toomey (#90) and Bevan Mills (#53).  The Officiating Supervisor will be Al Kimmel. 

Sullivan, not to be confused with the Pittsburgh Penguins head coach, was hired by the NHL  prior to the start of the season.  He played college hockey at Bowling Green State University before hearing to Europe. Sullivan spent three seasons in Italy, playing in the win2day ICE Hockey League (then known as the EBEL) before heading to the U.K. to join the EIHL’s Dundee Stars for one season. 

“I wanted to be a referee for a while now, but I never really knew how to get started,” Sullivan told his former team, the Dundee Stars.  “[In 2017], I was lucky enough to attend the NHL Exposure Combine for potential/prospective officials. I loved the whole experience and realised that I wanted to really give officiating a shot.”

Sullivan made his officiating debut in 2019, working games in the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL), along with the American Hockey League – as a referee – and the Ontario Hockey League – as a linesman.  He’s currently in his fifth AHL season, his third as a full-time referee.

“Officiating is definitely something that I would love to do for the rest of my life,” Sullivan said back in 2020.  “To be able to be around the game everyday, and make a great career out of it, would be a dream. At the moment, I am just making sure that every game I get in the AHL, OHL, and Minor Hockey, I work hard and do my best to referee a fair game. The game has given me so much, and I owe it to the game to do that.”

From the NHLOA:

Born and raised in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario, Mike Sullivan played hockey within the Greater Toronto Area until 2011, when he began a collegiate career at Bowling Green State University.  After playing four years for the Falcons, he graduated and joined his older brother in Italy, signing with Asiago in the Italian Professional Hockey League.

After two seasons in Italy, he began pursuing a career in officiating by applying to the 2017 NHL Officiating Amateur Exposure Combine. After an eye opening week at the combine, he returned to Italy for another season, where his team won the Alps Hockey League Championship, and he got the esteemed privilege of representing Italy at the 2018 World Championships. That summer, he attended the 2018 NHL Officiating Combine once again to continue to develop as a potential official.

He played one final season in the UK’s Elite League, where he played for the Scottish based Dundee Stars, while also earning his Master’s Degree in Business from the University of Dundee.

After once again attending the 2019 NHL Officiating Combine, he picked up a whistle and began his officiating career, working 200 youth games in the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL), while also being a linesperson for the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and a Referee for the American Hockey League (AHL). He transitioned to full time Referee in the AHL for the 2021 season, working a full schedule including the first two rounds of the Calder Cup Playoffs. The 2022-23 season was his 4th AHL season, where he continued to hone his game through a full season schedule, earning the honor of working the Calder Cup Conference Finals.  After that season, In June of 2023, his on-ice career would come full circle, as he would be offered a minor league referee NHL contract in his hometown of Toronto.

 

Sullivan is the fourth and final referee to make his National Hockey League debut this month.  Referee Graedy Hamilton took the ice for the first time in the NHL at Coyotes vs. Sharks, followed by Stephen Hiff at Sharks vs. Kraken, and Riley Brace at Canadiens vs. Senators.  All four were hired prior to the 2023-24 season.

UPDATE:  Sully got a barn-burner for his first game in the show as the Flames won 6-5.  Here’s the opening draw and a few officiating highlights… 

 

 

Congratulations to Mike Sullivan on the start of his National Hockey League officiating career!