Steve Kozari (born June 20, 1973) is a Canadian

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

, who wears uniform number 40. He made his debut during the

2005–06 NHL season The 2005–06 NHL season was the 89th season of operation (88th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). This season succeeded the 2004–05 season which had all of its scheduled games canceled due to a labor dispute with the Na ...

, and has officiated 1,218 regular season games . He has also worked 153 playoff games, including five

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...

appearances. Prior to starting his professional career, he refereed a

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

and was the recipient of the Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy as the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

’s top on-ice official during the 2002–03 season.

Early life

Steve Kozari was born in 1973, to parents Steve and Debbie in

Penticton Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley of the British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan Lake, Okanagan and Skaha Lake, Skaha lakes. In the 2021 Canadian Census, its population was 36,885, while its Census geographic un ...

, British Columbia. He grew up in Penticton with his sister, and graduated from

Penticton Secondary School Penticton Secondary School (Pen High or PSS) is a high school located in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. PSS is operated by School District 67 Okanagan Skaha. It is one of two secondary schools in Penticton and one of three in the school d ...

.Faculty and Staff
Kozari started officiating

minor hockey Minor ice hockey or minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body c ...

in his hometown at the age of 12, and worked his way up to

junior hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from t ...

. He was a referee in the

British Columbia Hockey League The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is an independent Canadian Junior ice hockey league with 21 teams in British Columbia and Alberta. It was classified as a Junior "A" league within the Hockey Canada framework, until it became independe ...

, and then in the WHL where he would remain for ten seasons. Following the 2002–03 WHL season, Kozari received the Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy, and was assigned to the

2003 Memorial Cup The 2003 Memorial Cup (branded as the 2003 Mastercard Memorial Cup for sponsorship reasons) occurred May 17–25 at the Colisée Pepsi in Quebec City, Quebec. It was the 85th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ic ...

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, Quebec.

Career

Kozari has been a member of the NHL Officials Association since the

2003–04 NHL season The 2003–04 NHL season was the 87th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup champions were the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won the best of seven series four games to three against the Calgary Flames. For the fourth time in ...

. His first game was between the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

and the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

on October 15, 2005, at the

Savvis Center The Enterprise Center is an 18,096-seat arena located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Its primary tenant is the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League, but it is also used for other functions, such as NCAA basketball, N ...

. He worked the game with referee Dean Warren, and linesmen

Tim Nowak Tim Nowak (born 13 August 1995 in Bad Mergentheim) is a German athlete competing in the combined events. He represented his country at the 2016 World Indoor Championships finishing seventh. Competition record Personal bests Outdoor *100 metres ...

and Mark Shewchyk. He was promoted to full-time NHL referee in 2007. Kozari’s first playoff assignment was game one of the 2010 Eastern Conference quarterfinal between the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

and the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

. He officiated his 1,000th game on October 22, 2021, at

T-Mobile Arena T-Mobile Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Paradise, Nevada, United States. Opened on April 6, 2016, it is the home arena of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). A joint venture between MGM Resorts International ...

between the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

and the

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Golden Knights compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division ...

. The officials for the game represented leagues that Kozari worked in; as Kyle Rehman worked games with him in the WHL, Scott Cherrey worked with him in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

, and Mark Shewchyk joined him on his NHL debut. Kozari was selected for his first Stanley Cup Finals in 2014, and has since officiated the

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

and

2024 Stanley Cup Finals The 2024 Stanley Cup Finals was the Stanley Cup Finals, championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2023–24 NHL season, 2023–24 season and the culmination of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

. He also participated in the

2014 Heritage Classic The 2014 NHL Heritage Classic was an outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) game held indoor, part of the Heritage Classic series of outdoor NHL ice hockey games in Canada. It took place on March 2, 2014, in BC Place in Vancouver, w ...

, the 2016 Stadium Series, the 2020 Winter Classic, and the

2022 NHL All-Star Game The 2022 National Hockey League All-Star Game was held on February 5, 2022, at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, the home of the Vegas Golden Knights. For the sixth consecutive All-Star Game, a three-on-three format was used, with teams represe ...

. In 2021, when asked about his future as an NHL referee, he responded that " islast game will be in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

…whenever that is." During a game between the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

and the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 6, 2024, Kozari briefly lost consciousness after an inadvertent head on head collision with Lightning defenceman

Haydn Fleury Haydn Fleury (born July 8, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Fleury was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round (seventh overall) of the 2014 NHL entry ...

. Both left the game due to injury, with Kozari leaving on a stretcher. He was admitted to

UPMC Mercy UPMC Mercy is a main hospital facility of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and is located in the Uptown section of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, adjacent to Duquesne University, and a few blocks from the PPG Paints Aren ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, for precautionary reasons. He returned on April 21, working game one of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoff series between the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

and the Nashville Predators.

Personal life

Kozari lives in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, Nevada, with his wife and two sons. His son Jackson is a referee in the AHL. During the NHL off-seasons, he ran an officiating school in Penticton until its closure during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kozari, Steve 1973 births Living people Canadian ice hockey officials National Hockey League officials Ice hockey people from Penticton

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References