Four decades ago, Dan Marouelli and his wife, Sharon, took a trip to Barrie.
“As we went around Kempenfelt Bay,” explained the retired National Hockey League referee, “Sharon said, ‘wow, I like this,’ and hearing that from her was like music to my ears, because I was thinking exactly the same thing.”
Marouelli, who was inducted into the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame on Wednesday night in recognition of a career that spanned almost three decades, is from Edmonton.
The Oilers at the time had a player named Wayne Gretzky and were about to build a dynasty. With apologies to other parts of Canada, the province was probably the most fertile ground for NHL hockey, especially once the Calgary Flames began to rival their northern neighbour.
The problem was logistics and geography — travel is always gruelling out west and there was no suitable training ground for officials in Alberta given the lack of professional hockey below the NHL.
A move was likely best for Marouelli’s career, but represented a massive unknown family-wise.
“We left everyone there,” remembered Marouelli.
Now 69, Marouelli was coming up on 30 and had just completed a hybrid American Hockey League/NHL stint that included time as a linesman to get his feet wet after working for a time as a firefighter in his hometown.
Transitioning into a full-time NHL contract, Marouelli was at a crossroads, both career-wise and personally.
The Marouellis chose Barrie. They haven’t left.
“Barrie had just 45,000 people back then,” he recalled.
Barrie has grown to almost four times that number and the Marouelli clan has with it. Sharon and Dan have three grown children – Dan Jr. (DJ), Dana Lynn and Joey – who now each have two kids of their own.
It’s been quite a ride. It started with his name on the back of his jersey, nothing on his head, working with two linesmen; it ended with his name replaced by a number, his head protected by a helmet and with another referee.
“I started when it was just 12 full-time referees,” said Marouelli. “When a second referee was added, it often came down to working and managing the different personalities (of fellow officials) and (working out) who you best work with.”
Marouelli eventually worked four Stanley Cup finals, 190 playoff games, the 2004 World Cup in Europe and the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, and 1,622 regular-season contests. As that resume suggests, he spent a large swath of his time in the NHL as one of its more respected referees.
“It’s about handling disrespect with respect,” Marouelli said when asked what makes a good hockey official, and in obvious reference to dealing night after night with players/coaches who are straddling a knife’s edge of intensity.
“The second thing is to ensure the safety of all the participants.”
Marouelli’s second point was also meant to describe the efforts – still ongoing to a degree – to combat obstruction.
After one or two false starts earlier in his career, the NHL cracked down with authority after the lost season of 2004-05. Marouelli said it was a change that absolutely needed to happen to free up the fabulous ability of NHL players that was muted or lost with all the hooking and holding used by wily, less skilled opponents.
“We really needed it for the players, but also the fans,” said Marouelli.
Beyond calling penalties, just as important, a ref’s job is about managing the game and being consistent. A referee is rarely seen unless he’s having a conversation with a player or coach, often looking like a hybrid judge/hallroom monitor trying to reason with angry men who can’t fathom they are mistaken. Ever.
Throw in the fact there could be almost 20,000 surly observers backing the aggrieved party and it’s easy to understand how difficult a job officials have. Imagine going to work every day in such a setting. Wearing hi-vis, pinstriped gear to boot.
And yet, even more than your Average Joe working an average job, referees almost always get it right.
And when they don’t, the mistakes tend to even out without any great advantage to either team.
Not speaking about his own performance but instead generally, Marouelli offered this short, telling comment: “Almost always, there is a fair outcome,” he said.
Marouelli stressed multiple times during a phone conversation earlier this week that the outcome for him and his family in Barrie has been much more than just fair.
He was effusive in his praise of the people that helped him; back when he was laying down roots, then raising a family and now, culminating with his BSHOF induction.
He made special mention of fellow NHL (also retired) referees Ron Hoggarth, a Barrie native, and Terry Gregson, who lived locally for a few years when Marouelli was first starting out. Harry Gillespie, a local minor hockey figure at the time, also lent him a huge hand.
“Everyone, who has helped us getting started and living here, (Barrie) is just (a great community),” said Marouelli, rattling off names, places and organizations around town before making special mention of the Barrie Minor Hockey Association and Barrie soccer clubs that were critical in helping his kids have happy, active childhoods.
“I couldn’t have done all this without all that support.”
