Time doesn’t stand still, and neither does the hockey schedule. In our mind’s eye, the Olympics may have just ended, but here we are in prep mode for the men’s World Championship in Fribourg and Zurich, Switzerland, starting in mid-May.
And for Scott Zelkin, the IIHF’s Head of Officiating, that means finalizing the names of the officials for the tournament. His department has just unveiled the list of 16 referees and another 16 linespeople who will oversee 64 games in 17 days. The list includes one oddity. For the first time, there are two officials with the same name. There is Jiri Ondracek, a Czech linesperson who has worked many IIHF events, and there is Jiri Ondracek, a referee, who is making his top-level World Championship debut
“This is the first step in us preparing for the next Winter Olympics,” Zelkin said of the new list of names. “We’ve closed the books on Milano Cortina, and now we’re gearing up and giving our officials an opportunity to get to the next Olympics. Some officials who worked the last World Juniors, or who will be in Slovakia for the men’s U18, might be at the Olympics in four years. We don’t know who they’ll be yet, of course.”
For Zelkin, it’s a balance. The Worlds are a key event, so the best officials have to be used, but it’s also an opportunity to do a deep dive into the talent available to him beyond the usual names with the most experience.
“We had a pretty veteran group in Milan,” Zelkin explained, “guys who had been to a number of World Championships and had some real experience. So, we want to stay true to the fact that the World Championship is one of the marquee events on the hockey calendar, whether it’s an Olympic year or not. We want to put the best officiating crew on the ice, but we also want to use this as a chance to bring in some new people. All of the officials who will be in Switzerland have experience, whether it’s Division I-A or a World Juniors or under 18. They’ve all been at a top-level IIHF event, but for a number of them, this will be their first senior Men’s Worlds at the top level, which is also exciting.”
Looking back to February and ahead to 2030, Zelkin is excited about the blended officiating which saw the best of the IIHF work alongside the best of the NHL.
“The idea of having a blended crew in 2030 doesn’t affect how we do things now,” he continued. “Looking back to Milano, I couldn’t have been more pleased at how well the IIHF and NHL crews worked together. By the end, we were one staff. There was no difference between the IIHF team and the NHL team. But when you look ahead, boy, it’s hard. If we have a blended crew in 2030, there are going to be only seven referees and six linespeople from the IIHF. That’s a pretty tough team to make. And it means you truly have to be the best of the best.”
Looking into the names for the upcoming Worlds, there are some who were at the Olympics, others who have plenty of previous WM experience, and several who will be working their first, top-level WM.
“We’re looking for good officials, but also good people who make for really good teammates,” he continued. “It’s a partnership with us and the federations and the professional leagues to determine who are those people. It’s based on two things. First, are they going to fit well within our team? And second, are they outstanding officials? So the new guys have performed well for us at previous events outside the top level men’s Worlds, but they are also performing well in their national leagues during this current hockey season.”
“The competition in Switzerland promises to be memorable,” Zelkin summarized, “and the officials look forward to serving the game in a manner that will allow the skill, speed, and excitement of hockey to shine through in every game.”
Referees
BJORK, Tobias (SWE)^
BLOYER, Nolan (USA)
BORGA, Cedric (SUI)
BRANDER, Riku (FIN)^
BURZMINSKI, Taylor (CAN)
GOUR, Jesse (CAN)
HOLM, Christoffer (SWE)*
HRONSKY, Tomas (SVK)^
KAUKOKARI, Mikko (FIN)^
KOHLMUELLER, Lukas (GER)
MacFARLANE, Sean (USA)*
OFNER, Christian (AUT)^
ONDRACEK, Jiri (CZE)
SCHRADER, Andre (GER)*
TSCHERRIG, Michael (SUI)^
WANNERSTEDT, Marcus (NOR)
Linespersons
BERESFORD, Daniel (GBR)^
BIRKHOFF, Brian (CAN)
DAVIDONIS, Renars (LAT)
DURMIS, Oto (SVK)^
GIBBS, Mitchell (CAN)
GUSTAFSON, Shane (USA)^
HAUTAMAKI, Onni (FIN)*
JONSSON, Gustav (SWE)
LAGUZOV, Patrick (GER)^
NIITTYLA, Tommi (FIN)^
NYQVIST, Anders (SWE)^
ONDRACEK, Jiri (CZE)
RAMPIR, Lukas (CZE)
REY, John (USA)
SCHLEGEL, Dominik (SUI)^
SOSTUMOEN, Njaal (NOR)
*2026 Olympics
^previous top level WM experience