Woodstock\u2019s Brad Kovachik, the National Hockey League’s longest serving active official, is making the biggest call of his career.<\/p>\n
Published Jan 30, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 3 minute read<\/p>\n
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Woodstock\u2019s 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<\/p>\n
Woodstock\u2019s Brad Kovachik, the National Hockey League\u2019s longest serving active official, is making the biggest call of his career.<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s starting to sink in now,\u201d he said from New York City. \u201cYou go to different rinks and realize it\u2019s the last time I\u2019ll step into it. You walk into an arena and remember important games that stand out in your mind, and most are good memories.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI feel very fortunate and lucky to be able to do that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack when I started, you did your first (NHL) game and were hoping to get a second game,\u201d he said. \u201cOne hundred games come up, and then you don\u2019t think about it after that. Games start stacking up, and after that you\u2019re close to 2,000. It\u2019s pretty crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t until his first playoff game in 2001 that Kovachik was recognized for his consistency that made him one of the league\u2019s top officials for another quarter-century.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt kind of symbolizes that they have confidence and faith in you,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you get over that hump, it\u2019s pretty big in our business.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kovachik will take a couple of distinctions with him in retirement \u2014 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\u2019s Madison Square Garden, Boston and Montreal were also among Kovachik\u2019s favourite arenas to visit. He recently worked his last game at the Bell Centre.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen that (Canadiens) team is good, that crowd is probably the loudest you\u2019ll ever hear,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt was kind of surreal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He also shared the stage with Woodstock\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty exciting somebody from Woodstock winning the Stanley Cup,\u201d Kovachik said. \u201cIt\u2019s crazy to think of.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019 barbs, especially when officiating the early 2000s Leafs\u2019 teams under then-head coach Pat Quinn.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time you worked a game in Toronto, you had your hands full,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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He\u2019ll miss the players, many of whom he built trust with over the years. Kings\u2019 star Anze Kopitar wished him luck in retirement after a recent game.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are many more good people than there are bad,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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 \u2014 a University of Miami rower \u2014 could attend, along with his wife, Natalie, and son, Brayden, as well as other family and friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be special,\u201d Kovachik said. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019ll help mentor the next generation of officials as the Greater Ontario Hockey League\u2019s referee-in-chief.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the guys before me taught me there isn\u2019t a legacy,\u201d he said. \u201cNobody will remember how many games I did. Hockey will go on without me. I\u2019d 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.\u201d<\/p>\n