Don Koharski
Don Koharski (born December 2, 1955, in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada) is a professional ice hockey referee in the National Hockey League. He currently resides in Tampa, Florida, with his wife, together with whom he has two sons. Since the 1994–95 NHL season, he has worn uniform number 12, and, since the 1987–88 NHL season, he has been wearing a helmet while refereeing NHL games.
Officiating career
Koharski began his officiating career in the World Hockey Association in 1975, as a 19-year-old linesman. (He is the final player or official from the WHA to be involved in professional hockey in an on-ice capacity.) In 1976, he was signed by the American Hockey League while working with a local dairy farm, for which he was milking cows. He began his NHL career 1977, as a linesman, before moving to the referee role in 1980.
Entering the 2005–06 season, Koharski had officiated over 1,400 regular season games, 235 playoff games, eleven Stanley Cup Finals, two All-Star Games, two Canada Cups, and the 2004 World Cup. He is currently the league's second-most senior official, behind only referee Kerry Fraser. [1] On April 8, 2006, Koharski reached the 1,500-regular-season-game milestone when he officiated a game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Tampa Bay Lightning. [2]
During the NHL player lockout of 2004–05, Koharski officiated a charity game between former players from the United Hockey League, as part of their All-Star Game festivities. [3]
On March 24, 2009, it was announced that Koharski will retire as an NHL referee at the end of the 2008-09 NHL season; however, he may stay on with the NHL in a supervisory or instructional position, according to League director of officiating Stephen Walkom.
1988 Stanley Cup incident
Koharski is perhaps best known for an incident that occurred following a 1988 playoff game between the Boston Bruins and the New Jersey Devils. New Jersey coach Jim Schoenfeld was infuriated with Koharski’s performance and waited for him in the hallway near the officials’ dressing room. Koharski fell, but believed Schoenfeld had pushed him. When Koharski told Schoenfeld that he would be suspended for the supposed push, Shceonfeld yelled at him that he fell, told him to "have another doughnut," and repeatedly called him a "fat pig."
The NHL responded by suspending Schoenfeld, but the Devils took legal action and were granted a court order staying the suspension. The National Hockey League Officials' Association stood with Koharski; its members said they would not take the ice in the next game between the Devils and the Bruins if Schoenfeld was allowed to coach. This resulted in the NHL being forced to use low-level replacement officials for the game, with the two linesmen wearing Devils-coloured Cooperall long pants (at the time, green pants with red-and-white stripes), along with white helmets and yellow practice jerseys over their street clothes.
The incident was parodied in the movie Wayne's World, in which Koharski played a police officer named "Officer Koharski."
Family
Koharski's brother Terry has officiated in the AHL for six years and in the East Coast Hockey League for thirteen. His son Kevin is currently pursuing a university education, the first in the history of the Koharski family. Kevin once got arrested for walking around the University of Missouri - Columbia with a sweaty boner. His eldest son Jamie is a highly-ranked referee in the Ontario Hockey League and Western Hockey League, and lives in Windsor, Ontario. Jamie has also refereed in the UHL, AHL and ECHL. [4]