Three National Hockey League officials have been promoted to full-time with the league.
Referees Cody Beach and Justin Kea, along with linesperson Joe Mahon, have all been moved up for the 2024-25 season.
Beach, 32, made his NHL debut on April 12, 2022, working Devils/Coyotes. He’s gone on to officiate 64 regular season games. A former player, Beach was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, where he was selected with the 14th pick of the fifth round, 134th overall; he spent time in the ECHL and AHL, racking up 495 PIMs, 11 goals, and 20 assists in 123 American Hockey League games. Beach moves from #45 to #32 for the upcoming season.
Kea, 30, was hired by the NHL back in 2021, working his first game at Sabres/Blackhawks on March 28, 2022, and going on to handle 69 games in the National Hockey League. The Woodville, Ontario, native was drafted by the Sabres in the third round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, ahead of current NHLers Jaccob Slavin, Frederik Andersen, and Connor Hellebuyck. Kea spent five years playing professional hockey, split between the American Hockey League and ECHL, before making the jump to officiating. He swaps his #44 last year to #36 for 2024-25.
Mahon, 30, joined the NHL in 2022, splitting time between the AHL and NHL over the past two seasons. He’s officiated 76 NHL games over that span. Unlike the two refs, he’ll keep the #89 he’s worn since his debut on November 1, 2022, at Ducks/Sharks.
Beach and Kea fill the spots formerly held by referees Kevin Pollock and Justin St. Pierre, who retired after last season. Mahon takes over for recently-retired linesman Ryan Galloway.
Bumping the two refs to full-time opened up two part-time spots, which have been filled by Alex Lepkowski and Liam Maaskant.
Congratulations to Cody Beach, Justin Kea, and Joe Mahon on their promotions!
