Linesman Kory Nagy has called it a career.
Nagy, 32, was set to enter his sixth season as an NHL linesman. Instead, he’ll be hanging up his whistle.
No details were provided around Nagy’s decision to step away from the game.
The Walsingham, Ontario, native – who was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in 2008 – went on to play professional hockey for five seasons, spending time in the ECHL (Trenton Devils, Trenton Titans, Orland Solar Bears) and AHL (Lowell Devils, Albany Devils, Adirondack Phantoms, Toronto Marlies).
Then a forward, he posted 27 goals and 51 assists in 189 ECHL games, along with 7 goals and 15 assists in 117 games in the American Hockey League. In 2014, he made the jump to officiating.
“After I was done playing, I was burnt out from all the strenuous lifting. I couldn’t maintain that forever,” Nagy told ESPN in 2018. “It was weird at first,” Nagy said about officiating former teammates. “But I love what I do now.”
Nagy made his NHL debut on October 12, 2016, when the San Jose Sharks hosted the Los Angeles Kings.
From the NHLOA:
Nagy expected to make the NHL, but never expected it to be as an official. The Walsingham, Ont. native played four years in the OHL and was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the fifth round (142nd overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He spent five years as a professional hockey player, splitting his time between the ECHL and the AHL.
Prior to the 2014-15 season, he was owned by the Toronto Maple Leafs and was training for the upcoming season when he was approached by NHL officiating manager, Al Kimmel, to see if he wanted to give it a try. Nagy attended the Officials training combine that summer while training for the Maple Leafs. During training camp, the intended to send him to the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears. Nagy decided that his dream of playing in the NHL was out of reach and he wanted to focus on officiating as a new career path. As someone new to the profession, Nagy, with help from Kimmel, officiated any game he could possibly get. His first year he officiated minor league hockey games in the morning and ECHL or AHL games at night. The following season, he would bounce around the ECHL, AHL, and SPHL just to get as many reps as he possibly could.
The 26-year-old’s work paid off for him as he was hired by the NHL in the summer of 2016 under a minor league linesman (40/40) contract. He was promoted to a full time NHL linesman status in the following summer (2017).