With the next round of the Champions Hockey League almost upon us, we caught up with a CHL referee to hear about the competition from an official's point of view.
by Luke Fisher
Throughout the season we see and hear a lot from players and teams of their daily routines, journeys to games, and what they thought of the game they just played in – especially in the CHL, where road trips often involve plane rides to the next city.
However, it's not just players and coaching staff who have to travel for CHL matches – at each arena there is a guest referee, who comes from abroad, to officiate the game. We caught up with one of those to see the what the CHL experience is like for the guys in the stripes as well!
Kristijan Nikolic is affiliated to the EBEL in Austria. We started by asking him his opinion of the Champions Hockey League so far.
"It's a good chance for teams to gain experience; new teams, new players, new coaches, to see how good people are from others leagues which is the main thing for teams," said the 26-year old. "For referees as well, it's a great chance to see how other officials work and how everything is organised. I've done some IIHF tournaments in the past, including in Africa, and it's quite similar to this experience of seeing new things."
Players and coaches have said they feel great benefit in playing competitive games so early in the season, which is a view Nikolic shares for officials as well. "I think it's really useful. These kind of games are different to preseason games – there's usually no pressure in those – so you're coming in faster and it's a good pressure. It's a good start for the season."
In the EBEL, Kristijan is used to travelling – the league contains teams from five countries (in fact, we interviewed him in Hungary, as he prepared to referee Fevervar AV19 vs. Villach) – but does the gameday routine change for the CHL?
"The gameday routine doesn't change so much for the Champions League. The only difference is flying if we need to take a plane to the game. Otherwise everything is the same; we have our day plan," said Nikolic, who lives Innsbruck in the far west of Austria. "Normally if we have to fly, then we fly the day before, but for example next month I'm officiating in Zurich so I'll drive there, as it's not far from Innsbruck, and I'll go on the same day, but normally we arrive the day before and leave the morning after the game."
In the CHL, each game is officiated by three officials from the host country, and one guest referee from abroad for the group stage – starting form the Round of 16 both referees will be from abroad. These are allocated by both the league and as part of the IIHF Referee Exchange programme.
What do they talk about before a game? "That's a good question. Mostly we talk about hockey. So we talk about our own leagues, exchanging information, and trying to prepare so we're on the same page in the game – what's important for us and them. Also, of course, you talk about where guys are form and learn a bit about them too."
And what about in the reverse situation, when Nikolic is the domestic referee with a colleague from abroad? "I think it's an important thing for the local referees, that we help the foreign referees. Sometimes we point out players, normally you're not focusing on one player in particular, but if there is one who is sometimes more aggressive then you let the guest referee know and to be aware. Also, we usually explain how the coaches work, which is important, for us," he told us.
When travelling to referee two new teams, one often wonders if referees do any background checks on the clubs and players they'll meet.
"Sometimes I do research before yes, I look on clubs' websites and see what kind of players are playing there. Maybe there was a player or coach we had in our league so you know then and what they'll bring," comments Kristijan. "On the ice, what I like to do is ask the captain during the handshake what his coach's name is, in case I don't know!"
On the subject of coaching, are the leagues different in how coaches and referees interact? "There is a difference in how the coaches work with officials from league to league, yes. It's hard to explain exactly, but for example I did one game where the coach was complaining and yelling a lot, which in the EBEL we don't get so often – our coaches are pretty good on that and I think mutual respect with all coaches is really important."
We all know that players are often pictures on road trips with headphones on, or watching movies, but what does a referee do on his way to a CHL game abroad?
"For a road game? Of course I take my laptop and my headphones for some music," Kristijan tells us. "I'm usually checking the rulebook, no really(!), just to refresh my knowledge and make sure I'm prepared. I have some clips on my laptop as well from games to have a look at as well."
And where is Kristijan's favourite place that he's refereed? "Africa was a great experience. It was my first IIHF Championship and of course Cape Town was one of the best things I saw. Hockey-wise, though, I think Zurich will be my next bigger step... That will be the biggest place I've officiated in, for sure. Up until now it was Vienna, with around 7,000 people," he said.
Finally, as a former junior player and hockey fan, who are his hockey heroes?
"The famous players like Ovechkin and Malkin, but I wouldn't say I have one particular hero," he confessed.