Women officials in spotlight at NHL Exposure Combine

BUFFALO -- The NHL and its annual Exposure Combine are helping women reach new heights in officiating.

Lineswomen Alexandra Clarke and Kirsten Welsh each broke barriers last season. Clarke became the first female to officiate in the Western Hockey League, and Welsh made history in the Ontario Hockey League.
They were also among the first of 10 women to work as officials in the American Hockey League.
"It's] exceeded so many expectations," Welsh said. "It's just incredible to have the opportunities that have come up from this camp. It's just been a very quick rise and obviously I wouldn't have gotten there without the help that I've had along the way."
Clarke and Welsh were among nine women participating in this year's Combine, held at LECOM Harborcenter. Clarke was a first-time participant; Welsh attended for the third time.
Typically, the NHL aims to have at least 12 to 14 women at the camp each year, a boost from the first edition in 2014 when there was one. A total of 39 women have participated since the inaugural camp.
In 2019 and 2021, the NHL selected four women who had attended the Combine in those years to work rookie tournaments around the League and will be doing so again this year.
Clarke and Welsh will be among them; Clarke will be officiating during the
[2022 Young Stars Classic
in Penticton, British Columbia, and Welsh will work the
2022 NHL Prospects Showcase
in Raleigh, North Carolina. Each tournament began Friday and ends Monday.
"It's exciting," said Al Kimmel, NHL Officiating director of scouting and development. "The first stage was giving them opportunity. … [General managers and coaches] were initially hesitant for Kirsten and Alexandra about the physicality of altercations, but both Alexandra and Kirsten have no fear about it. They're both aggressive, not timid at all. And both can handle themselves in physical combat of the game. Once everybody sees that, they're accepted, by the players and the coaches and the managers."
The NHL is also giving them opportunities off the ice through the NHL/NHL Officials Association mentorship program. The program connects them with NHL officials, offering the women the chance to gain insight into various areas of the profession, from preparation to on-ice situations, adversity and more, through conversations over the course of the season.
"There's no better opportunity than to learn from the people that are the best in the world," Clarke said. "They're willing to give their time back to us, to help us develop and reinvest back into female development."
Welsh said, "It's really comforting to just have that support and have these guys wanting to see you do well."
Last season was a whirlwind for Clarke. In addition to the WHL and AHL, she was also called upon to officiate women's hockey at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
"I think it just reaffirms all the work we've been putting in behind the scenes for so many years, finally coming to fruition in these opportunities that we're having," Clarke said. "We have been working really hard to get to these levels for so many years … and now it's finally working out. Women are having their opportunities, and I think we're succeeding when we get those opportunities."
Clarke turned to officiating when a knee injury halted her playing career. A former defenseman, she was drafted by Calgary of the now-defunct Canadian Women's Hockey League following four years at College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota. Forced into retirement, she missed the game immensely.
When deciding between coaching and officiating as a way to stay involved in the game, she opted for the latter; she had officiated a bit during her high school years and saw it as an opportunity to give back to the game and still be a part of it.
And now, she continues to give back by spreading the word.
"I talk with a lot of high school programs," Clarke said. "A lot of the advice I give is … just encouraging them to keep officiating in mind and encouraging them to see the opportunity that is in officiating."
Welsh attended the Combine for the first time in 2019 upon the suggestion from her assistant coach at Robert Morris University, where she played defense for the Colonials.
"This camp is just incredible for getting women out there and getting them to try it and see where they compare against the other people they're considering," Welsh said. "It's been growing at a rapid rate. I try to spread it, too. Whenever any hockey players that I know who are thinking of hanging up the skates that I played with back in college, I'm like, 'Why don't you guys try it?'"
As more women choose to do just that, the path to the NHL appears to be forming.
"The barriers have been broken and there'll be more and more opportunity, I think, each year," Kimmel said. "The greater their abilities increase, at some point in the future I'm sure we will see female officials working at the [NHL] level."