Staff Writer
The call that brought Wes McCauley into the NHL came on a winter afternoon in 2003.
McCauley and his family were living in Cincinnati, and the phone rang on a rare day off from officiating in the American Hockey League.
"We need you to referee," the voice on the line told him as he watched his two children, Riley and Emma. "You've got to go to Columbus and you've got to go now."
The Chicago Blackhawks were scheduled to play the Columbus Blue Jackets that night and a referee scheduled to work the game was ill. McCauley was expected to be on the ice less than four hours later.
He got in his car and drove to Columbus. It was roughly a two-hour drive and behind him was his wife, Bethany, who cut short a trip to the grocery store and followed with Riley to watch Wes' debut.
It was a far cry from how McCauley envisioned his NHL debut. A standout player at Michigan State from 1989-93, he was good enough to be drafted by the Detroit Red Wings. But when his dream of playing in the NHL ended with an injury, McCauley did the next-best thing.
McCauley, 35, recently completed his fourth full year as an NHL referee after working four first-round playoff games. He spends the offseason in South Portland with his family.
When McCauley first stepped onto NHL ice, there was a sense of apprehension, but not to any extreme.
"You're in a position like that, whether you're playing or officiating, you have a bit of the butterflies," McCauley said. "But I think what helped me was growing up in the business."
Then the game began and with it, McCauley's life in the NHL.
"It was great to see him accomplish what he's accomplished," said Bethany McCauley, who coaches girls' lacrosse at South Portland High. "There's not a lot of referees who can make it to that level, and to see him do that, it's amazing.
"I remember him just driving everywhere, driving to Canada to work a game, and he was staying in Red Roof Inns in really bad parts of town. It's exhausting, but he was always ready for it and always willing to do it. That's what he wanted to do."
McCauley's father, John, was an NHL referee and became director of officials until he died in 1989. Wes McCauley grew up playing hockey and learned the rules from both his father and young referees such as Don Koharski and Andy Van Hellemond --now elder statesmen.
"It's neat now," McCauley said. "Our senior officials are the guys I grew up with. They were at the stage where I am right now, and now they are colleagues."
McCauley spent five seasons playing in the minor leagues before he went to Italy for the 1996-97 season. One teammate in Milan was Jay Mazur, the current Scarborough High coach and a former UMaine standout, who lived with his wife, Kristyn.
Bethany Fenton, a South Portland native, was visiting her sister and only planned to stay seven days in Milan. But she missed her flight back and spent the next three weeks touring Italy with Wes, who became her husband the next year (1998).
Around that time McCauley went through another life-changing event. He suffered injuries to his knee and groin that ended his playing career. He had to consider his options. Leaving hockey wasn't one of them.
In the late 1990s the NHL began to consider a two-referee system and eventual rules changes. Several officials gave McCauley a word of advice.
"This is the time," an official told him. "If you want to do it, this is the time that you should do it."
The NHL Officials Association advises prospective referees to begin by working any games they can and get as much technical and physical training as possible.
McCauley spent his first year working minor-league games in Ontario, then joined the East Coast Hockey League's crew before working in the American Hockey League in 2001.
McCauley reached the NHL in a time of transition -- immediately before the strike that wiped out the 2004-05 season and at a time when the league's older superstars...
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