Wesley McCauley (born January 11, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current

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 ...

(NHL)

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 ...

. He is the son of Irene and

John McCauley Air Marshal Sir John Patrick Joseph McCauley, KBE, CB (18 March 1899 – 3 February 1989) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1954 to 1957. A Duntroon ...

, who was also an NHL referee. A defenceman during his playing career, McCauley became a referee after injury forced his retirement from playing in 1997. He refereed his first NHL regular season game in 2003 and became a full-time NHL referee in 2005. , he has officiated 1,369 regular season games and 206 playoff games including nine

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. He wears uniform number four.

Early life and amateur career

McCauley was born on January 11, 1972, in

Georgetown, Ontario Georgetown is a large unincorporated community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Halton. The town includes several small villages or settlements such as Norval, Ontario, Norval, Limehouse, Ontario, Lime ...

. His father was

, a former NHL referee and the NHL's Director of Officiating at the time of his death in June 1989. McCauley entered

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

and played as a

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

for the university's team, the

Spartans Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the valley of Evrotas river in Laconia, in southeastern P ...

. He spent four years playing alongside his best friend

Bryan Smolinski Bryan Anthony Smolinski (born December 27, 1971) is an American former professional ice hockey center. The Boston Bruins drafted him 21st overall in 1990. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islan ...

and together they co-captained the team in their final year. McCauley won the inaugural

Terry Flanagan Memorial Award The Terry Flanagan Memorial Award was an annual award given out at the conclusion of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular season to the player who best demonstrates perseverance, dedication and courage while overcoming severe adversi ...

at the end of his final season in 1993.

Professional playing career

After his first year at Michigan State, McCauley was drafted by the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

in the 8th round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. After graduating from university, he played minor league hockey with the

Las Vegas Thunder The Las Vegas Thunder were a professional ice hockey team competing in the International Hockey League. The team's home rink was at the Thomas & Mack Center. They began play in the 1993–1994 season, folding on April 18, 1999. The demise of the ...

and

Fort Wayne Komets The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey team, which currently plays in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In all of North American professional hockey, only the Orig ...

of the International Hockey League, the

Knoxville Cherokees The Knoxville Cherokees were an East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. History The franchise was formed in 1988 along with the ECHL. The team moved to Florence, South Carolina in 1997 and was renamed the Pee Dee Pr ...

of the

East Coast Hockey League The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

(ECHL), the

Muskegon Fury Muskegon ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Muskegon County, Michigan, United States. Situated around a harbor of Lake Michigan, Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, and boating. It is the most populous city along Lake Michigan' ...

of the

Colonial Hockey League Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French colonial architecture * Spanish colonial architecture Automobiles * Col ...

and Milan in the Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

league. He ended his playing career in 1997 due to injuries.

Officiating career

After retiring from playing, McCauley followed in his father's footsteps by becoming a referee. He started off refereeing minor league matches in Ontario, before progressing to the ECHL. In 2001, he was hired by the NHL to officiate in the second-tier

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 ...

(AHL). While with the AHL, McCauley refereed his first NHL game on January 20, 2003, a 5–1 win to the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

against the visiting

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

. After being selected to officiate the AHL's

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League (AHL). It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In it ...

Finals in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, he was promoted to a full-time NHL referee for the 2005–2006 season. After two seasons as a full-time NHL referee, McCauley refereed his first playoff match in the

2007 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League began on April 11, 2007. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played Playoff format#Best-of-seven playoff, best-of-seven series for conference quarterfinals, se ...

, in the first match of the conference quarterfinal series between the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

and

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

on April 12, 2007. In June 2013, he was selected as part of the officiating team for the NHL's

2013 Stanley Cup Finals The 2013 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) season, and the conclusion of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Western Conference playoff champion Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Eastern Confe ...

between the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

and Chicago Blackhawks. McCauley has subsequently officiated the

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

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 ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and

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 ...

. He left game six of the 2019 Western Conference finals due to an injury, and was ineligible for the 2021 finals due to a positive

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

test during the conference finals. McCauley officiated his 1,000th NHL game on December 23, 2018. When coming to center ice after penalties or video reviews, he is known for his suspenseful announcements of important results. McCauley was one of eight officials selected to work the

4 Nations Face-Off The 4 Nations Face-Off () was an international ice hockey tournament held from February 12 to 20, 2025. The games were played in Montreal at Bell Centre and in Boston at TD Garden. Hosted by the National Hockey League (NHL) and featuring only NH ...

in February 2025.

Personal life

McCauley is married with four children and lives in

South Portland, Maine South Portland is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, and is the List of municipalities in Maine, fourth-most populous city in the state, incorporated in 1898. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population wa ...

, where his wife Bethany grew up. His younger brother Blaine McCauley also played professional hockey. Wes was one of the referees in Blaine's professional debut in 2000.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCauley, Wes 1972 births Living people Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey defencemen Canadian ice hockey officials Detroit Red Wings draft picks Fort Wayne Komets players Ice hockey people from Ontario Knoxville Cherokees players Las Vegas Thunder players Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey players Muskegon Fury players National Hockey League officials Sportspeople from Halton Hills