NAHL Looking for a Few Good Officials for Exposure Camp

The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is holding Officiating Exposure Camps to continue the development of prospective referees and linespersons. The 2026 camps will be held in Michigan, New Hampshire, and California. 

Enrollment runs through February 1, 2026, so get those applications in!

NAHL Officiating Manager Kendall Hanley recently joined the #RefsPodcast to talk about the camps – and more.

From the NAHL:

NAHL Officiating Exposure Camps are designed to provide education, exposure, and experience to officiating prospects who are seeking a development opportunity and aspire to advance into higher levels of amateur hockey, junior hockey and beyond. The camps will feature classroom sessions, off-ice testing, on-ice testing, and the opportunity to receive feedback from experienced officiating coaches.

Education: Classroom sessions will provide an overview of the Three- and Four-Official System positioning and mechanics and feature a presentation of the major differences between the USA Hockey Youth and USA Hockey Junior Rulebook. Officials will be provided an overview of the various opportunities in officiating that are available within the NAHL family of leagues and discuss the NAHL Officiating Ladder of Development.

Exposure: Officials will receive feedback from experienced Officiating Coaches and will leave with an understanding of the fundamental and advanced techniques they will need to master so that they can continue to develop into successful game managers at the current levels they work in addition to the levels they aspire to advance to. Officials will be exposed to a variety of on-ice and off-ice tests that will provide them with individual baseline performance measurements they can use to pinpoint and navigate areas of improvement for themselves in the future.

Experience: Held in conjunction with a NAHL Combine, games will feature highly skilled prospects from North America and Europe who are competing to advance their playing career to the junior hockey level. Games will be fast paced, skilled, and competitive! Officials will work in both the Three- and Four-Official Systems and will have the opportunity to officiate in front of representatives from USA Hockey’s Advanced Officiating Development Program (AODP) and more.

“These camps are an opportunity for young officials to get feedback,” said NAHL Director of Officiating Keith Kaval. “No different than the players, the officials who come to camp are looking for education, exposure, and experience.”

Camps are open to USA Hockey-certified officials 18 and over with at least one year of officiating experience. Those with less than a year in stripes or under 18 may be considered on a case-by-case basis. 

Interested?  Get your application in by February 1, 2026.  

Kaval shares more on what the league is looking for:

Scouting the Refs Podcast: NAHL’s Kendall Hanley on Officiating Camps, Olympics