Ray Scapinello

Ray Scapinello
Scapinello in 2008.
Born	Raymond Angelo Joseph Scapinello (1946-11-05) November 5, 1946 (age 70) Guelph, Ontario
Occupation	Former NHL Linesman

Raymond Angelo Joseph "Scampy" Scapinello (born November 5, 1946) is a former National Hockey League linesman, known for having the longest on-ice career of anyone in the history of the NHL.

Ray Scapinello grew up in Glen Christie, Ontario, located between Guelph and Hespeler in Ontario, Canada. Glen Christie had a population of approximately 80 and was built around a Quarry. Ray is the son of Dorothy and George "Sonny" Scapinello. He has one older sister, Dianne, and one younger brother, Dougie. Scapinello played hockey growing up and earned the nickname "Scampy" due to his small stature and exceptional skating ability. Despite being a skilled skater, Scapinello never made it into professional hockey, and had stopped playing by the age of 21.

During the late 60's, Scapinello joined the Guelph Referees Association and began officiating games for them while he was working for General Electric. He was invited to the NHL rookie official's camp in 1970 and despite not making the cut, he was invited to officiate in the Ontario Hockey Association. Scapinello spent one year officiating in the OHA before he was again invited to the NHL rookie official's camp. This time he made the cut and at age 24, was hired into the NHL in 1971. Scapinello officiated his first NHL game on October 17, 1971. It took place in Buffalo between the Buffalo Sabres and the Minnesota North Stars.

In the spring of 1980, Scapinello officiated his first Stanley Cup Finals. This was one of a total of 21 he officiated during his career. In 1998, Scapinello was chosen as one of 4 officials to participate in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Despite being unprepared, Scapinello and the other officials managed to learn the differences in rules between olympic ice hockey and ice hockey in the NHL. One of the biggest differences for the officials proved to be the rule that required all officials to wear protective helmets while on ice, and this marked the only time in Scapinello's career that he wore one (he was included under a grandfather clause in the NHL; he retired before the clause was revoked and helmets became mandatory for all officials in the 2006-07 season).