Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Referee Stories

07/16/2014 at 4:29pm EDT

from Paul Stewart at the Huffington Post,

Shortly after my retirement from the NHL as an active referee, the Hockey News asked me to name the five biggest whiners I had to deal with on the ice. In descending order from one to five, the players were Chris Gratton, Tyson Nash, Craig Janney, Steve Yzerman and Keith Tkachuk. I'll share stories about the other players some other time but for now, I talk about Gratton.

If you ever looked at Chris Gratton's career, he was the type of player that in the era in which I played would have been branded as a pseudo tough guy. He was bold and brave when either playing at home and/or going up against someone much smaller or at the end of a long shift when Gratton had just hopped on the ice. On the road, he could often carry a carton of eggs in his sweater without breaking any.

Gratton also complained about pretty much every call that did not go his way. He'd give my linesmen grief if he sent in a play two feet offside and the play got whistled down. According to him, he was never guilty of a penalty; to the point that, even when he did have a legitimate beef, he'd already cried wolf too many times before.

much more, a good read...

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

Email Paul anytime at [email protected]

Most Recent Posts

Most Recent Comments

Comment by Paul in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry NHL Short Notes - 6 hours ago
Comment by Paul in Kukla's Korner Hockey from the entry NHL Short Notes - 6 hours ago
Comment by Steeb in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Quick Recap- Wings/Hurricanes - 6 hours ago
Comment by calquake in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Quick Recap- Wings/Hurricanes - 7 hours ago
Comment by StargateSG1 in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Quick Recap- Wings/Hurricanes - 7 hours ago