Like most everyone else in the hockey world, Garrett Rank was just a guy taking a break from the ice and trying to put his golf game together when his phone rang this summer.
Why would the boss, the NHL’s Director of Officiating Stephen Walkom, be calling now? Hmmm…
“You drive a lot of miles, spend a lot of nights alone in a hotel room, and take a lot of crap out on the ice,” Rank, 28, said over the phone from an airport boarding lounge on Sunday, just days after receiving the call offering him full-time status as an NHL referee. “For that to come to fruition and pay off is a very special moment in my life, and my family’s life.”
On Monday morning Rank teed it up at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club in a threesome that included 17-year-old Justin Allen and 20-year-old Addison Coll. Together they formed the 11th pairing at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, where Rank would have to win this year’s tournament to improve on his finish from 2015 (a three-way tie for second).
The best golfer in the NHL has made the cut as a full-time zebra, a decision that sets a ticking clock to his golf career. But really, for the son of an Elmira, Ontario, referee, wearing the NHL shield is more rewarding than shooting 68.
And as long a he takes care of business as a zebra, the NHL has no problem with Rank’s golf aspirations.
“I can definitely manage it,” he said. “As long as I stay physically sharp during the hockey season and come out of the (season) in top shape, I don’t think I’ll have a problem playing a bunch of these amateur events.”
He is still single and without kids. That, and the gravity of juggling a hobby at this high level are the two realities that Rank faces now.
“It’ll probably come to a point where the travel, the carrying on of go, go, go every week of the year will wear me out. And probably family, down the road, will cut into it,” he admits. “But for the next couple years I’m going to stick with it, and hopefully get a few more professional starts as an amateur. If I can play well in some of those events I would consider maybe playing professional in the summer at some point.”
Rank is clearly a rare specimen. Smart, goal oriented, and with a broader perspective on life after overcoming testicular cancer that was discovered in 2011.
You may think he finally chose life as an NHL referee over chasing the PGA Tour, but in fact it was the other way around. “It was essentially, the NHL approached me before the PGA tour did. I couldn’t say no,” Rank said.
Walkom and his staff staked their claim with Rank first, and snapping up a hot prospect that Walkom knew was a keeper.
“He’s kind of the next generation of referees,” Walkom said. “We’re not worried if they’re going to be great skaters. We’ve had them to combines — we know they’re great skaters. They’re athletes, with a high hockey IQ. They’re in fabulous shape. Big, strong… They understand all those elements are real important if you want to get to the NHL and compete for the Cup one day.”
Rank is a former Canadian national team golfer who simply followed two paths, waiting to see which one panned out the best. The NHL called before the PGA did, and as long as Rank takes care of his game as a referee, the league will have no issue with how he spends his offseason time.
He was granted full-time status along with five others: Referees Jon McIsaac and Kendrick Nicholson; linesmen Shandor Alphonso, Devin Berg and Brandon Gawryletz.
It’s really no surprise to see so many young hires, as elder statesmen like Paul Devorski, Greg Kimmerly, Brad Lazarowich and Andy McElman hang up their skates. The game has sped up incrementally, and officials need to be younger and faster to keep up.
“The guys we promoted this year, you want them on your team,” Walkom said. “The great refs before them — Andy van Hellemond, Bill McCreary, Paul Devorski — they all played hockey to a certain level and were great athletes. Now, we want to see these basic components, because they lead to a long career.”
A long career of winning the NHL officials annual summer tourney, no doubt.
