Retired National Hockey League linesperson Leon Stickle passed away November 5 at age 77.
Stickle manned the lines for 28 seasons in the NHL, officiating 1,948 regular season games and 219 playoff matches. The Toronto-born liney made his NHL debut on October 19, 1970, working a game between the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins at the Civic Arena. He worked that one – a 0-0 tie with 14 penalty minutes per side, but no fights – alongside referee Art Skov and fellow liney Ron Ego.
He went on to work six Stanley Cup Finals (1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1984, and 1985), along with four All-Star Games (1975, 1978, 1983, and 1997). He as also selected to work the Canada Cup in both 1981 and 1984, as well as the 1979 Challenge Cup and Rendez-vous ’87.
The veteran official wore #33 from 1994 until his retirement.
From the NHLOA:
Stickle is the son of Ivan Stickle and his wife Bernice, and has a sister Gail. Born in Toronto in 1948, Stickle and his sister and parents moved to Milton, Ontario in 1958. Stickle played baseball for the Milton Red Sox in the Halton County Intermediate League, and also for the Milton Midgets in 1964. After playing for the Sarnia Jr. B Legionnaires, Leon played hockey for his hometown Milton Merchant Juniors, an OHA Central Junior C team.
After a 27-year career patrolling the blue lines, Stickle joined the Western Professional Hockey League, where he spent three seasons as supervisor of officials before being named director of officiating in July 2000.
In 2003, Stickle was hired as the NHL’s supervisor of officials. Stickle left his job at the time as director of hockey operations for the Central Hockey League. Stickle spent 27 seasons as a linesman in the NHL before moving to the CHL.
After his retirement, Stickle returned to the OHA, where he supervised and mentored officials in the OHA and OHL. He was often spotted at OHL games in Guelph, keeping an eye on the stripes.
Stick was inducted into the Milton Sports Hall of Fame in 2019:
