By hiring an ex-NHL official the Hockey East shows that they would rather have a competent professional leading their ranks – instead of the status quo and a bunch of good ole boys.
[Official Press Release]
Wakefield, Mass. - Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna announced the hiring of Dan Schachte on Tuesday afternoon, as the league's first Coordinator of Officials.
Schachte, who will handle all the day-to-day operations of the league's officiating program, just finished a 30-year career as an National Hockey League linesman. He worked 2,009 regular-season games in the NHL dating back to 1982, which ranks fifth all-time and first all-time among American-born NHL officials. He also worked 221 Stanley Cup playoff games, which ranks eighth all-time among NHL linesman. He worked five Stanley Cup Finals ('97, '98, '00, '01, '02) and worked Game 7 of the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals. He also served as a linesman in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, which included the Bronze Medal Game.
We are fortunate to have attracted someone with Dan's experience to this new position," said Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna. "Dana Hennigar, Brendan Sheehy and, more recently, Dick DeCaprio all contributed greatly in finding and mentoring top on-ice officials. I look forward to working with Dan as he puts his own stamp on our officiating program."
Schachte also served on the NHLOA Discipline Committee from 2002 to 2010, as well as the NHLOA Executive Board (1991-1992) and the NHL Injury Analysis Panel in 2002.
"My family and I are excited to take on this position with Hockey East, said Schachte. "The conference is arguably one of the top amateur hockey leagues in the world, and I am going put every ounce of my energy into making the league the best."
He has also served as an Officiating Supervisor for USA Hockey since 2011, mentoring many of the top young officials in the United States with instruction and training at camps around the country. Schachte, who was a former Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and United States Hockey League (USHL) referee from for two years (1980-1982), co-founded of the Wisconsin Elite Hockey League (WEHL) back in 2006.
Schachte studied Mechanical Enginering at the University of Wisconsin. He resides in Verona, Wis. with his wife Kim and children, Danny, Ian, Lauren and Maddy.
FOR TRANSACTIONS: HOCKEY EAST: Hockey East Association announced the hiring of Dan Schachte, as Coordinator of Officials.
