Dan O’Halloran

As a young boy, his father, Fred, was for several years the President and Conveyor of the Essex, Ontario minor hockey program making the old Essex Arena his second home every winter. He started officiating at a young age but really started to be more serious about it after his Junior “C” playing days were over. He went on and worked countless local hockey games and junior games around his hometown during his officiating journey before reaching the now defunct International Hockey League (IHL) a few years later. At that time, several NHL teams had an affiliated team in the old International Hockey League which had O’Halloran working and being in contact with several officials under contract with the NHL. With NHL officiating supervisors/managers attending some of his games along the way, his officiating skills were recognized one summer when he was ask to report and participate at the next NHL Officials training camp. He went on and signed a minor league referee contract with the National Hockey League in the summer of 1992. He was promoted to a full-time NHL referee status in the summer of 1999.