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Woodstock’s Brad Kovachik, the National Hockey League’s longest serving active official, is making the biggest call of his career.
Published Jan 30, 2026 • 3 minute read
Woodstock’s Brad Kovachik, the National Hockey League’s longest-serving active official, is making the biggest call of his career and retiring in March. Photo by Jeff Vinnick /Getty ImagesArticle content
Woodstock’s Brad Kovachik, the National Hockey League’s longest serving active official, is making the biggest call of his career.
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Nearing the end of a 30th season, during which time he has reached every milestone, the 54-year-old is retiring in March.
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“It’s starting to sink in now,” he said from New York City. “You go to different rinks and realize it’s the last time I’ll step into it. You walk into an arena and remember important games that stand out in your mind, and most are good memories.”
Kovachik has done it all during a distinguished NHL career that started Oct. 10, 1996, in Philadelphia. His last game is set for March 31, 2026, in Florida.
In between, Kovachik has worked more than 1,900 regular season games, 200 playoff games, five Stanley Cup finals, four international games, three outdoor games, the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, and the 2014 Olympics in Russia.
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“I feel very fortunate and lucky to be able to do that,” he said.
It’s a journey Kovachik never imagined when he first started officiating at the Perry Street Arena when he was 12. More than a decade later, he was working the lines with NHL veteran Ron Asseltine in a game that featured future Hall of Fame players Dale Hawerchuk and Rob Blake.
“Back when I started, you did your first (NHL) game and were hoping to get a second game,” he said. “One hundred games come up, and then you don’t think about it after that. Games start stacking up, and after that you’re close to 2,000. It’s pretty crazy.”
It wasn’t until his first playoff game in 2001 that Kovachik was recognized for his consistency that made him one of the league’s top officials for another quarter-century.
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“It kind of symbolizes that they have confidence and faith in you,” he said. “When you get over that hump, it’s pretty big in our business.”
Kovachik will take a couple of distinctions with him in retirement — the last linesman to work in the 1990s and the last to officiate at Maple Leaf Gardens, which was one of his favourite arenas. New York’s Madison Square Garden, Boston and Montreal were also among Kovachik’s favourite arenas to visit. He recently worked his last game at the Bell Centre.
“When that (Canadiens) team is good, that crowd is probably the loudest you’ll ever hear,” he said.
Kovachik was on the ice in Boston when the Bruins came back from a 4-1 third-period deficit to beat Toronto 5-4 in overtime in Game 7 of the 2011 playoffs.
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“It was kind of surreal,” he said.
He also shared the stage with Woodstock’s Jake Muzzin during the 2014 Stanley Cup final between New York and Los Angeles. Muzzin, then in his second season with the Kings, won his first championship as a full-time player that spring.
“It’s pretty exciting somebody from Woodstock winning the Stanley Cup,” Kovachik said. “It’s crazy to think of.”
Outside of a knee sprain and some stitches, Kovachik stayed healthy doing a job that required getting in the middle of dozens of fights. He dodged errant pucks and players’ barbs, especially when officiating the early 2000s Leafs’ teams under then-head coach Pat Quinn.
“Every time you worked a game in Toronto, you had your hands full,” he said.
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He’ll miss the players, many of whom he built trust with over the years. Kings’ star Anze Kopitar wished him luck in retirement after a recent game.
“There are many more good people than there are bad,” he said.
Kovachik will work his final game with referees Gordie Dwyer and Brian Pochmara and linesman Libor Suchanek. He chose Sunrise, Fla., so his daughter Sophia — a University of Miami rower — could attend, along with his wife, Natalie, and son, Brayden, as well as other family and friends.
“It’s going to be special,” Kovachik said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Retirement will allow Kovachik to enjoy being a full-time dad and husband, especially after missing birthdays, anniversaries and other big moments over the years. And he’ll help mentor the next generation of officials as the Greater Ontario Hockey League’s referee-in-chief.
“I think the guys before me taught me there isn’t a legacy,” he said. “Nobody will remember how many games I did. Hockey will go on without me. I’d like to think I was a good team player, and everybody enjoyed working with me. I think I represented the NHL the best I could.”
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