Referee Alex Lepkowski will make his NHL debut tonight, April 8, 2025, as the Pittsburgh Penguins host the Chicago Blackhawks. He’ll work his first NHL regular season game – wearing #44 – alongside referee Francois St. Laurent (#8) with linespersons Jesse Marquis (#86) and Tyson Baker (#88).
Lepkowski, 31, hails from Buffalo, New York. He was drafted by his hometown Sabres in the fifth round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, going 137th overall, ahead of Andrew Shaw, Frank Corrado, Josh Manson, Laurent Brossoit, and Dylan DeMelo.
He spent five seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, suiting up with the Saginaw Spirit, Barrie Colts, and Oshawa Generals. Lepkowski was OHL teammates with current NHLers, Aaron Ekblad, Mark Schiefele, and Andrew Mangiapane. He played one season with the AHL’s Rochester Americans – alongside Brayden McNabb, Chad Ruhwedel, Joel Armia, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Nicolas Deslauriers – before returning to the ECHL to suit up for the Greenville Road Warriors and Missouri (now Kansas City) Mavericks. He then headed off to college, playing four seasons at Acadia before returning to the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies for his final professional season in 2020-21. Lepkowski went on to officiate in AHL, OHL, and USHL.
He was hired alongside fellow referee Liam Maaskant prior to the start of the 2024-25 NHL season. He’s spent this season wearing the stripes in the American Hockey League.
Congratulations to referee Alex Lepkowski on his National Hockey League debut!
