Tonight in Anaheim, NHL Linesman Shane Heyer will reach an impressive milestone that only a few officials in the history of the National Hockey League have reached. The veteran linesman who is in his 30th season with the NHL, will be working his 2,000th Regular Season Game tonight when the Edmonton Oilers will play the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center. He will be joined on the ice for this special assignment by fellow referees Dan O’Halloran and Wes McCauley while his partner on the lines will be veteran linesman Mark Wheler.

Heyer who just turned 54 a couple of weeks ago, grew up in Penticton B.C. and came up to the National Hockey League through the Western Hockey League (WHL) officiating program. He was hired by the NHL in the summer of 1988 and made his NHL debut not long after on October 6 in Vancouver at the old Pacific Coliseum, manning the lines during a matchup between the original Winnipeg Jets and the hometown Canucks. He would get his first taste of NHL Playoff hockey quickly as he made the post-season officiating team in his second season only with the NHL. His first NHL Playoff Game was on April 18, 1990 at the defunct Chicago Stadium working a game between the Minnesota North Stars and the Blackhawks.

The man who wears uniform number 55 built an impressive resume throughout his years of service with the NHL. He has worked the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver B.C., was selected to officiate 2 World Cup of Hockey tournaments (1996 & 2016), earn the honor of being selected to work the 1998 NHL All-Star Game in Vancouver B.C., worked 2 NHL Outdoor Games (2018 New York city & 2014 Los Angeles CA) and to top it off, reached the Stanley Cup Finals 6 different times (2017, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2008 & 2007). He is also one of only five current NHL officials to have worked NHL games as both referee and linesman. In the early years of the NHL transitioning to the two-referees system, Heyer decided to leaves the lines and try to become a full time referee instead, taking advantage of a program that the NHL offered to a few veteran linesmen in order to fill the demand of the new system for more NHL referees in a short amount of time. He spent the next few seasons as a referee, spending time between the American Hockey League (AHL) and the NHL perfecting his new craft. He would go on and work a total of 386 NHL Regular Season Games and 2 Playoff Games as a referee before deciding to return on the lines for good.

The NHLOA would like to congratulate linesman Shane Heyer for this amazing milestone. Well done Shane!