The ECHL has made some updates to its rule book and its officiating lineup – adding 41 new officials – for the upcoming season. Why so many new stripes?
The ECHL will be using the two-referee system for 50% of its games for 2024-25, up from 25% last season.
Officiating Changes
New to the ECHL this season:
- Referees: Scott Allan, Ibrahim Arifi, Alex Berard, Ben Betker, Emile Charron, Chris Conway, David Elford, Damian Figueira, Alexandre Gagne, Mitchell Hardy, Sydney Harris, James Kraft, Kurtis Pare, Ian Rapp, Austin Rook, Chris Rumble, Dylan Sater, Ryan Siegel, Hayden Verbeek, Kacey Walker, Koletrane Wilson
- Linespeople: Austin Bove, Josh Burkart, TJ Dockery, Jeff Flannigan, Craig Ford, Ben Fortin, Devon Gale, Kyle Gaspari, Garrett Gaydosh, Harrison Heyer, Dave Horton, Alex Ledovskiy, Guillaume Ouellet, Jake Rennert, Jake Rozenberg, Demitri Samarko, Jon Shaw, Vaughn Upton, Dominick Valentine, Andy Vanwagoner.
Not returning from last season are referees Samuel Loiselle and Steve Sailor, along with linespeople Andrew Bartholomay, Marc-Antoine Beaulieu, Guillaume Brunelle, Darryl Butt, Chadd Colin, Mark Day, Brady Fagan, Adam Hull, Sheldon Keough, Dan Kovachik, Brian Lambert, Joe Maynard, James McKenna, Logan Parsons, Ryan Robinson, Jordan Thomas, and Jim Vail.
Check out the full ECHL Officiating Roster for 2024-25.
Here’s what else is new in the ECHL this season:
Rule Changes
- Roster Sizes have increased to 20, with teams allowed 18 skaters and two goalkeepers); previously, teams were capped at 19, with 17 skaters and two goalies. (Rule 5.1)
- Lineups must be submitted no later than five minutes after warm-ups. The visiting team hands theirs in to the official scorer first, with the home team immediately after. (Rule 5.1)
- Cut-proof socks, wrist protection, and neck protection are now required for all players and officials. All must have a cut-resistance level of A3 (ANSI scale) or above. (Rule 9.5, Rule 30.1)
- No line change by the defending team when their goalkeeper knocks the net off its pegs; previously, this only applied when a defending skater displaced the net. This aligns with a similar change in the NHL for 2024-25. (Rule 63.7).
- Players no longer permitted to sit on the boards. The NHL rule added this year specifically calls out situations where the player’s skates are on the ice-side of the boards; the ECHL makes no such distinction. Teams will be given a warning, with subsequent violations resulting in a minor penalty. (Rule 75.3)
- Face-off violations by the defending team will not result in the center being ejected. He’ll get a warning, with the next violation on that draw resulting in a minor penalty. The NHL has made the same change for the upcoming season. (Rule 76.4).
- Referees able to review high sticks on goals. Officials will now be able to leverage video review to determine if a puck was deflected directly into the goal by a high stick. (Rule 88.3)
Congrats to the ECHL’s newest officials… and keep an eye out for some of those new rules!
