Chris Rooney Celebrates Officiating 1,500 NHL Games In His Hometown of Boston

Chris Rooney started officiating as a way to make some money. 

He was an 11-year-old growing up in Boston and did some simple math: he could make more money — and enjoy himself more — officiating instead of bagging groceries. 

“I kind of did the math as a kid, that if I reffed a couple nights of (10U) games for a couple hours, I can easily make about 40 bucks,” Rooney said. “Whereas if I went and bagged groceries, or whatever else, I’d have to work eight hours just to make the same amount.”

While Rooney didn’t know it at the time, he had already picked his life-long career. 

“I was a goalie when I played, and I was terrible,” Rooney said. “So that option of making anything out of [hockey] was never really on the table. But once I started officiating, I fell in love with it.”

Close to four decades later, Rooney, now 49, became the first American to officiate 1,500 career NHL games when he reached the milestone working the game between the Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 7. 

The game was a special occasion for Rooney for several reasons. 

He reached the mark in his hometown, he was able to pick his own crew for the game — fellow referee Wes McCauley, along with linesmen Steve Barton and Brad Kovachik — and his 14-year-old twin sons Cole and Logan were in attendance. 

“That was special,” Rooney said. “They are at the age now where it’s still fun for them, and I remember they were at my 1,000th game, I think back in 2017. We had some fun pictures from that one, which we made sure to recreate for my 1,500th game.”

Rooney worked his first NHL game on Nov. 22, 2000, between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the now defunct Atlanta Thrashers. He has since worked six Stanley Cup Finals, the 2015 NHL All-Star Game and the 2010 Winter Olympics. 

It’s been a career filled with adventures, Rooney said, but the events close to home, in Boston, where his family have been present are some of his favorite memories. 

“We do about 20 days a month on the road, I’ve been fortunate enough to have worked multiple [Stanley Cup] Finals, which means I generally work until late June,” Rooney said. “So that’s about nine months a year, 20 days a month, that’s 180 days. So that’s pretty much half the year, so if you look at it that way, I’ve been on the road for half of my kids’ lives.” 

Adding to some of that time away, Rooney also volunteers his time and experience at select USA Hockey officiating functions, trying to give back to the game that’s given him an opportunity to “skate for a living.” 

When you consider Rooney started reffing in Boston as an 11-year-old, the amount of games he’s worked in his life likely numbers well above 3,000 at all levels. And in an age where hockey is faster than ever, how has he maintained his level into his late 40s?

“Keeping the bad weight off,” Rooney said with a laugh. “That’s just it, the game is getting so much faster, and if you’re carrying around that weight it makes it even harder, right? So that’s one thing I’m very cognizant of the past few years.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

Source: usahockey.com