Referees, linespersons and the people off the ice.

Referees and linespersons

Hockey splits the job on the ice in two. Referees run the game and call penalties. Linespersons watch the blue and red lines and conduct most faceoffs.

• IIHF Rule Book 2026/27: referees have general control of the game, their decisions in disputes are final, and they impose penalties and rule on disputed goals (Rules 31.2 and 31.4). They do not stop play for offside or icing; those calls belong to the linespersons unless a linesperson is prevented from making them (Rule 31.4).
• NHL Official Rules 2026-2027: the referees supervise the game and control the officials and players, and their decision in any dispute is final (Rule 31.2). They impose penalties and give the final on-ice decision on disputed goals, and may consult the linespersons first (Rule 31.4). They do not halt play for offside or icing. Linespersons are generally responsible for those calls (Rule 32.3), and may also stop play and report to the referees in listed situations such as too many men on the ice (Rule 32.4).
• Hockey Canada Playing Rules 2026-28: a referee has full authority and the final decision in all disputes, and judgment calls cannot be appealed (Rule 5.1(c)). Referees assess all penalties and decide disputed goals, and may consult the linespersons and goal judge (Rule 5.2). Linespersons may stop play for offside, icing, premature entry into the faceoff circle and the puck leaving the playing area, among other situations (Rule 5.3).

Wikipedia (secondary) sums up the usual split: the referee is normally the only official who can give penalties, while linespersons rule on offside and icing, take most faceoffs, break up fights and can call a few infractions, such as too many players on the ice.

How many officials

Scouting the Refs (July 2016) traces the NHL's four-official system back to 1998-99, when each team played 20 games with a four-person crew. That rose to 50 games the next season, and four officials became standard for all games in 2000-01. Before the late 1990s, Wikipedia (secondary) says, the NHL used one referee and two linesmen. Wikipedia also says the four-official system is now used by the AHL, major junior, top European leagues and IIHF competitions, and by NCAA games since 2013-14.

Hockey Canada's 2026-28 Rule 5.2(n) says the linespersons' duties under Rules 5.2 and 5.3 are carried out by both referees; the rule does not name the officiating system it means, but it reads as covering games worked by two referees alone. If appointed officials do not arrive, the two teams' managers or coaches agree on temporary officials, who must wear at least skates, a helmet and a visor (Rule 5.2(k)).

Who drops the puck

Under the IIHF 2026/27 rules (Rule 31.3) and the NHL 2026-2027 rules (Rules 31.3 and 32.2), a referee drops the puck to start each period and linespersons take all other faceoffs. In the NHL a linesperson also starts regular-season overtime. See faceoffs.

What officials wear

The IIHF's 2026/27 Rule 31.1 dresses referees in black pants, IIHF jerseys, a black helmet with a visor and a neck laceration protector. The NHL's 2026-2027 Rules 31.1 and 32.1 dress both referees and linespersons in black pants, NHL officials' jerseys and a League-approved black helmet with a visor. Referees are told apart by an armband. Wikipedia (secondary) gives the colours as orange in the NHL and USA Hockey, purple in the PWHL and red under Hockey Canada. USA Hockey's 2025-29 rules require neck laceration protection for officials under 18, according to USA Hockey's announcement of 16 September 2025.

Off-ice officials

The IIHF's 2026/27 Rule 30.1 says the IIHF appoints both the on-ice officials (referees, linespersons and standbys) and the off-ice officials for each game, including officiating coaches, a video review consultant, the scorekeeper and the game timekeeper. Hockey Canada's 2026-28 rules list goal judges, a penalty timekeeper, an official scorer and a game timekeeper (Rules 5.4 to 5.7). Wikipedia (secondary) says the NHL stopped using goal judges after the 2018-19 season, and that NHL video review is often decided by Hockey Operations staff in Toronto.

Video review and the coach's challenge

The Globe and Mail reported that on 24 June 2015 the NHL Board of Governors approved a coach's challenge, at first limited to goals that may have involved offside or goaltender interference. Under the NHL's 2026-2027 Rule 38, the challenge can be used only in goal or no-goal situations and on delay-of-game calls for shooting the puck over the glass. The reviewable goal situations are an offside play leading to a goal, a missed stoppage in the offensive zone leading to a goal, and goaltender interference. The call on the ice is overturned only if the video shows conclusively that it was wrong.

Separately, under the NHL's 2026-2027 Rule 20.6, referees review every play that results in a major penalty, except a major for fighting, to confirm or change their call. The PWHL took a different route for 2025-26: it removed the coach's challenge in favour of review by a Central Situation Room, according to its announcement of 14 November 2025.

Officials in numbers

USA Hockey reported a record 31,316 registered officials in the 2024-25 season. The PWHL said on 14 November 2025 that it had 59 officials for 2025-26: 30 referees and 29 linespersons, of whom 37 were women and 22 men.

All three rulebooks read for this site penalise abuse of officials: the IIHF lists it among its 2026/27 bench minors, the NHL's 2026-2027 rules give it Rule 39, and Hockey Canada's 2026-28 rules cover it under maltreatment (Section 11). Hockey Canada's Rule 5.1(b) also says referees, linespersons and off-ice officials must be treated with courtesy at all times.