Vaughan Rody

Rody, a native of Winnipeg, MB, like most Canadian kids, played hockey growing up dreaming of making the NHL. His playing career ended at age 17, and by then he was already into his third season as a hockey official. He started out at the age of 14 working for six- and seven-year-olds to stay involved in the great game of hockey while earning a few bucks. He quickly climbed the officiating ranks of the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association.

At the age of 24, he took a leave of absence from his job as Supervisor of Site Operations at The Forks in Winnipeg and, hoping to increase his chance to make the NHL Officiating Team, accepted a full-time WHL linesman job. He moved from his native Winnipeg, Manitoba, to the Seattle area to begin working in the Western Hockey League. The WHL job paid sparingly, so he also took a job at Boeing as an inspector on the 777 program. His shifts would start at 5:18 a.m. and end at 1:18 p.m., after which he would drive to his games at various locations throughout Washington State and return late that evening for work the next morning.

He went on to work a total of 10 years in the WHL and six at Boeing before getting the long-awaited phone call from the National Hockey League offering him a full-time linesman contract at the age of 30. Rody made his NHL debut in Anaheim, CA, on October 8th, 2000, when the St. Louis Blues were in town to play the then Mighty Ducks. His on-ice performances were quickly acknowledged and rewarded when he was selected to work the Stanley Cup Playoffs after just two full NHL seasons. He made his first playoff appearance on April 18th, 2002, in Denver, CO, officiating a game between the hometown Avalanche and the visiting Los Angeles Kings.

A decade later, in November 2013, while skating in a game in Raleigh, NC, Rody got bumped from behind by a player on an innocent play in front of the net, hitting his left side. He knew right away something was not right but continued working for another two months, pushing through pain and discomfort to save his season. He eventually found himself on the surgical table in February 2014 to repair a herniated disk—a procedure called a laminectomy, in which part of the vertebral bone is removed.

A few weeks later, now pain-free and back in the gym full speed, he had his eyes on a special assignment: the 2014 NHL Heritage Classic in Vancouver, BC—a great chance for his kids to see him work a showcase game. But things went from bad to worse. Spinal fluid had seeped from his spine and one of his discs collapsed, leaving him with a rotary listhesis and no choice but to undergo another surgery—a spinal fusion in July 2014—just to be able to walk. Complications followed when his spinal fusion became infected, forcing him to spend six weeks in the Seattle/Everett Disease Center undergoing a third back surgery and IV antibiotic treatments.

After a long recovery and challenging rehab, Rody made it back to the NHL on February 13th, 2015—just over a year after his last game in Vancouver. Things only improved from there. He was assigned to the 2016 NHL All-Star Game in Nashville and later, in the fall of 2016, worked another Heritage Classic—this time in his hometown of Winnipeg, MB, making it especially meaningful.

On February 19th, 2017, Rody became only the third Winnipegger—after referees Andy Van Hellemond and Rob Martel—to reach the 1,000 NHL Regular Season Games milestone, achieved during a game in Vancouver. He celebrated the achievement the following season on December 11th, 2017, in his hometown of Winnipeg, surrounded by family and friends.