Don Koharski
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Don Koharski (born December 2, 1955, in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada) is a professional ice hockey referee. He currently resides in Tampa, Florida with his wife and together they have two sons. He wears uniform number 12.
Koharski began his officiating career as a linesman in the World Hockey Association as a 19-year old linesman in 1975, and in 1976 was signed by the American Hockey League, while working with a local dairy farm milking cows. His NHL career began in 1977 as a linesman before moving up to referee status in 1980.
Entering the 2005-2006 NHL season, Koharski had officiated over 1,400 regular season games, 235 playoff games, 11 Stanley Cup Finals, two All-Star Games, two Canada Cups, and the 2004 World Cup. He is currently the league's second most senior official behind referee Kerry Fraser. [1] On April 8, 2006, Koharski reached the 1,500th regular season milestone when he officiated a game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning. [2]
He is perhaps best known for an incident following a 1988 playoff game between the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils. [3]
New Jersey coach Jim Schoenfeld was infuriated with Koharski’s performance and waited for him in the hallway near the officials’ dressing room. The situation quickly escalated with Schoenfeld allegedly shoving Koharski, telling him to "have another doughnut", and calling him a "fat pig."
The NHL responded by suspending Schoenfeld, but the team took legal action and was granted a court order preventing the suspension. Upset by what happened, Koharski’s colleagues stood with him and boycotted the game, which resulted in the league using low-level replacement officials.
The incident was later parodied in the movie Wayne's World.
During the NHL player lockout of 2004-2005, Koharski officiated a charity game between former players in the United Hockey League as part of their All-Star Game festivities. [4]
Koharski's brother, Terry, has officiated in the AHL for six years and in the ECHL for 13. His son Kevin Koharski is currently pursuing a university education, the first in the history of the Koharski family. His youngest son, Jamie, is a highly-ranked referee and as a teenager in the Ontario Hockey League and Western Hockey League while living in Windsor, Ontario. Jamie has gone on to referee in the UHL, AHL, and ECHL. [5]
