The following article appeared in the September 15 edition of the Guelph Mercury;
Andy Van Hellemond has spent much of his life making calls under pressure, and dealing with the consequences. He has been scowled at by Pat Burns, chewed out by Mark Messier and told off by Guy Carbonneau.
Now the 62-year-old former NHL referee and director of officiating wants to blow the whistle in local government. Van Hellemond recently registered as a councillor candidate for Ward 2 on Guelph’s north side.
“I’ve always been fair and firm with whatever I’ve done,” the longtime Guelph resident said Monday.
“You don’t tell people what they want to hear. You’ve got to tell ‘em: ‘This is where it’s at,’” he said. “I feel the city needs more of that. We’ve got to be a little more open.”
Wearing an official Hockey Hall of Fame baseball cap, Van Hellemond spoke for the first time about his abrupt resignation in July 2004 from his post as the NHL’s director of officiating.
The circumstances of his break from the league were the subject of national media stories. They also sparked commentary in the Guelph blogosphere when he registered for the Oct. 25 election.
At the time of his resignation, Van Hellemond was accused of such things as seeking loans from subordinates, struggling with gambling debts and being part of a management structure that discriminated against U.S. officials.
There’s “no truth” to those allegations, Van Hellemond said. “Absolutely no truth at all.”
The rumours came from a disgruntled fired employee and were unfounded, he said. “Sour grapes,” was how he summed them up.
Van Hellemond said he goes to the race track “the odd time” to bet on horse races, but never had gambling debts. He said he resigned during the 2004-05 NHL lockout because he got tired of spending 16-hour days listening to angry coaches and demands of refereeing officials.
He added he might one day say more about the rumours he faced upon leaving the NHL in a book. He said a lawyer he retained in 2004 to address the allegations advised him at the time not to make any statements.
A household name during the 1980s and 90s, Van Hellemond is widely regarded as one of the best NHL officials of all time. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame after serving in 1,475 games, 19 Stanley Cup finals and 14 consecutive seasons as a top referee.
He was born in Winnipeg and moved to Guelph in 1973. Since retiring, he has led a life of leisure with his wife Cheryl, their three children and four grandchildren.
Van Hellemond said he decided to run for municipal office after researching the city’s waste disposal plans and getting wind of cost overruns on the new City Hall development.
He believes his years patrolling the ice and managing referees have prepared him for local politics.
“I had to do budgets. I had to do policy and procedure. I had to hire, I had to remove,” he said. “I had 30 coaches and 30 general managers to deal with.”
His jump into the civic election campaign created some buzz. During his interview Monday, two separate acquaintances approached to pledge their support.
But he’s one of four candidates in Ward 2, including the two incumbents. Plus, recent history has shown that a big name from NHL refereeing is no sure ticket to political success. Bruce Hood, also a former NHL ref, ran for the federal seat in Wellington-Halton Hills, in 2004, but lost to Michael Chong.
Speaking from his home Monday, Hood remembered Van Hellemond as a “pursuer” who demanded and won better pay for officials working the Canada Cup.
“He’ll be asking a lot of questions,” Hood said. “He’ll get more answers in a day than some people would in a week. He’s the kind of guy who will stand up and be counted. You’ve got to give a guy credit for that attitude. He likes to function on the edge.”
For the moment, Van Hellemond is cautiously optimistic about his chance of winning the election.
“I have to prepare as much as I can,” he said. “The chips will fall where they fall.”
On Oct. 7, Van Hellemond will debate Ward 2 incumbents Vicki Beard and Ian Findlay as well as Ray Ferraro and Paul Mahoney at 6 p.m. at City Hall.