Thomson joins American Hockey League staff

The ECHL announced on Tuesday that Director of Officiating Stephen Thomson has been named Manager, Hockey Operations and Player Safetyfor the American Hockey League.

“We would like to thank Stephen for his hard work, dedication and efforts to the ECHL and the ECHL officiating staff over the last four season,” said ECHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Joe Ernst. “We would like to congratulate him and wish him the best of luck with the AHL.”

Thomson joined the ECHL staff as Manager of Officiating Operations prior to the 2018-19 season. Before assuming that role, he spent four years as a referee in the ECHL, where he worked over 250 regular-season games in addition to being selected to work the Kelly Cup Finals in both 2017 and 2018 and the 2018 ECHL All-Star Classic in Indianapolis. He also worked nearly 60 games in the American Hockey League.Prior to joining the ECHL staff, the native of Canandaigua, New York spent three seasons as a referee in the Southern Professional Hockey League, where he worked the President’s Cup Finals in 2015, and four seasons in the United States Hockey League, where he worked the Clark Cup Finals in 2013 and 2014.

About the ECHL

Formed in 1988-89 with five teams in four states, the ECHL has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 28 teams in 20 states and two Canadian provinces for its 35th season in 2022-23. There have been 727 players who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League after starting their careers in the ECHL, including 29 who made their NHL debuts in the 2021-22 season. The ECHL had affiliations with 27 of the 32 NHL teams in 2021-22, marking the 25th consecutive season that the league has affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL. Further information on the ECHL is available on its website at ECHL.com as well as on Twitter and Facebook.