we couldnt get anything going right off the bat

Now that another Olympic Games is over, many across Canada know the stories of our athletes and the various roads they took to get to their ultimate goal. But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. Well, meet Derek Amell, 17-year NHL linesman and now an Olympian. When I turned on the mens hockey gold medal game between Canada and Sweden, I was happy to see that an old acquaintance would be working the lines for the biggest game on the worlds biggest stage. You see, over 25 years ago, Derek and I worked together at a drug store chain in Whitby, Ontario. I was a university student taking a year off school and he was a high school student looking to improve on his first job working the night shift at Burger King for $2.85/hr. There were two things I remembered about Derek back then: he was a lot bigger than me, and he had a very calm personality. Looking back, those are two good attributes for an NHL linesman. For Derek, the dream took off at the age of 24 when he worked his first Ontario Hockey League game. Three years later, he started working American Hockey League games and this is where our paths would cross again. I was an off-ice official with the Hamilton Canucks and Hamilton Bulldogs in the 1990s and we would touch base now and again at Copps Coliseum. I could see then that he was on his way to the NHL. "I felt the NHL was an attainable goal after working the AHLs Calder Cup Final in my first year," said Amell. He wouldnt have to wait long for the big moment. The following year, he found out he would be working NHL games in the upcoming season. In his first NHL season, the league made the decision to return to the Olympics in Nagano, meaning there was now another rung on the ladder of success for NHL players and officials. There would be some career highlights along the way, such as the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, the 2009 and 2012 Stanley Cup Finals as well as the 2012 NHL All-Star Game. Could the Olympics be next? And then he got the news. Unlike the athletes who are introduced at news conferences, Amell was contacted through e-mail by Stephen Walkom, the NHLs director of officiating. The message was sent on December 1, naming the 13 NHL officials who were chosen to work in Sochi. Of course, when athletes go to the Olympics, they stay in the Athletes Village and invite family and friends to share in the experience. Is it the same for the officials? "The officials stayed together in a hotel right inside the Olympic area. It was great to be together with all the amateur officials," said Amell, who is a married father of two children but did not have any family join him in Sochi. To work the gold medal game, he had to prove himself again. "The gold medal officials were chosen by a panel of supervisors from various countries and it was based on performance during the tournament. We were told by e-mail after the semifinal games," said Amell. When the officials for the gold medal game were announced, former NHL player and Swedish international Peter Forsberg was incensed that Canadians would be working the game but some current Swedish players defended the decision, saying their nationality wouldnt affect their decision-making. "We knew there would be extreme scrutiny on the officiating when it was announced that the officials were Canadian," said Amell. "We knew the players would be comfortable with us since we are all in the NHL. It was more an issue with the media than with the players. "At the end of the game, the entire Swedish team came over and shook our hands and told us we did a great job. That was very satisfying for us." So which was more nerve-racking: the first NHL game or the gold medal game? "Working the gold medal game was the most nerve-racking game I have ever officiated," he admitted. Its been a long road from collecting shopping carts in Whitby to officiating at the gold medal game in Sochi. And while Amells appearance at the Olympics may not have been as celebrated as many of the athletes, or even noticed by most viewers, the accomplishment is no less significant. And just like the athletes, family plays an integral role in the success of officials, offering support and enduring hardships over the years. "Since we only work 6-8 games a year at home, the family sacrifices are large," said Amell. "I miss most of my childrens sports activities and birthdays. They understand the life of an NHL official, but it still can be very difficult on my wife and children," said Amell. As for the hundreds of people who show up at the airport for our returning athletes, how does the return of an official compare? "No one met me at the airport," Amell laughed. "It was like coming home from any other road trip!" The Olympics is a place where dreams can come true. Most people dream of winning a gold medal but dont tell Derek Amell that his accomplishment is anything less. He just achieved his Olympic goal with a lot less fanfare. And, like a linesman who goes unnoticed when he does a good job, thats the way he likes it. Nike Air Max 270 Triple White Womens . The Broncos quarterback earned the offensive award Wednesday after passing for 374 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-21 win over the Raiders Monday night. Manning completed 32-of-37 passes and had a passer rating of 135. Nike Air Max 270 React Discount . 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Nike Air Max 270 Ispa Black .C. -- Carter Ashton had a pair of goals and added an assist as the Toronto Marlies downed the Charlotte Checkers 5-2 on Saturday in the American Hockey League.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Anaheim Ducks resume a lengthy homestand on Wednesday night looking for their first victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in over six years. The Ducks have lost six in a row versus the Leafs, having not beaten them since Oct. 21, 2008 in Toronto. That skid includes a 6-2 road setback on Dec. 16, when James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel each had one goal and an assist to lead Toronto. Jonathan Bernier made 40 saves for the Leafs, while Frederik Andersen was pulled in the third period for giving up four goals on 20 shots in defeat. Ilya Bryzgalov yielded two more goals on seven shots. That victory was Torontos sixth in a row and snapped a seven-game winning streak for Anaheim, but the Maple Leafs have lost nine of 12 since and will play their fourth game tonight under interim coach Peter Horachek since he took over for the fired Randy Carlyle. Toronto dropped the opener of a four-game road trip on Monday, falling 2-0 to the Los Angeles Kings. Bernier made 19 saves and only allowed one goal, which came 37 seconds into the game on a shot by Anze Kopitar that hit off the in-goal camera and right out. Play continued for about a minute until a stoppage and the officials awarded Kopitar the goal after a review. We have to look at the positives and our game lately has been much better, Bernier said. Bernier is 5-1-1 with a 2.01 goals against average and .930 save percentage in seeven games (6 starts) lifetime versus the Ducks.dddddddddddd With the Leafs set to visit San Jose on Thursday, it is unknown if Bernier will start tonight or if backup James Reimer will face the Ducks for the first time in his career. The Ducks are 4-2-0 on an eight-game homestand, having rallied to beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-4 in a shootout on Sunday. Anaheim trailed by two goals late, but Kyle Palmieri scored on the power play at 6:25 of the third and Rickard Rakell capped a big night with a game-tying goal with 2:03 to go in regulation. Sami Vatanen then had the deciding goal in the sixth round of the shootout to cap a night in which Anaheim retired the No. 8 jersey of Teemu Selanne. Andersen made 28 saves for the Ducks, while Rakell matched a club record for most points in a game by a rookie with four. He scored twice and added a pair of assists to match the mark set by Stanislav Chistov (1 goal, 3 assists) on Oct. 10, 2002 and matched by Ryan Getzlaf (4 assists) on March 24, 2006. It was one of those games where we couldnt get anything going right off the bat, said Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau. But if you believe you can come back, and you can do the right things, you always have a chance. The Ducks close out their homestand on Friday versus the New Jersey Devils and will likely start Andersen tonight. He has lost two previous starts versus the Leafs with a 4.07 GAA and .837 save percentage. ' ' '