What if a NHL official could have eyes on the back of his head?
This was the question that led to a new technology innovation that is starting this Saturday at the 2025 NHL Stadium Series game between Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets in Ohio Stadium (6 PM et).
Look closely at the judges’ ankles and line -up lines, lined with ice lines, and you will notice that they are each wearing an Apple Watch. The equipment is loaded with a custom app developed by the Presidio, an official NHL technology partner.
“They approached us with a very interesting challenge,” said the VP of digital services and the digital solutions of the Presidio, Andres de Corral. “They wanted to raise awareness of the ice game to improve the safety of players and officials, and they wanted to do so through a partnership with Apple, using Apple Watch.”
Since 2017, Apple’s iPads have been popular equipment on NHL benches, allowing players and coaches to immediately use repetitions and statistics to make ice adjustments and determine the challenges of the coach.
Tools are now practically indispensable, so League leaders began brain storm ideas for other useful technological solutions.
“We looked at the ice for the officials and said,” You know, they can also be helped, “” Dave Lehanski, EVP and NHL development and innovation said.
The NHL Watch COMMS app serves three main goals: setting time on officials’ ankles and providing unique spatial notifications to calculate the last seconds of each penalty and each period.
It may not be the first thing that comes into the mind of a fan, but the main advantage of officials was trying to minimize the possibility of high speed clashes in the ice-to avoid interrupting the game flow and prevent possible damage to officials or players.
“The sentences were probably our first thing we were concerned about because we had so much losses in the penalty box with players,” explained Stephen Walkom, a former judge for a long time now overseeing officialization as NHL executive vice president.
“As an official, you don’t want to take the ball path and don’t want to get the player way. You call so hard when you are working a game you forget when they are getting out of the box. You can either stop a player playing protection, or you can prevent offending.”
Because the square environment is so noisy, a ping or a sound notice would not work. But a spacious buzz is perfect: delicate but visible. Apple Watch is known, intuitive to use and can resist the physical impact that occurs if it collides on the boards – or the body of a player while breaking a fight.
“Apple Watch, we felt it was the perfect solution,” said Scott Brodrick from Apple Worldwide Product Marketing. “Sustainable is always connected and provides a powerful right experience in the wrist, so they should never lose focus from the game.”
The development process for the NHL Watch COMMS app has been long, and has been tested on the ground since last season.
In the fast environment of a NHL game, it was determined that less is more.
“Just because you can do it, it doesn’t necessarily mean,” De Corral said. “When we were testing The Apple Watch with officials for the first time, all our architects and developers are in the penalty box seeing. Everyone has their watch notifications going from the left and right, and one of the officials comes and says: ‘Why are you sending me all these things?’ We said, ‘What do you mean?’
“‘Well, you just said that the ball went into the goal. I just saw it visually. Why are you informing me? There are some things I’m really worried about. Whether the ball enters or not one of them,” he explained.
“It was this purely continuous repetitive process of personalizing and changing what officials really needed to have an impact on the player and official security.”
Settings like this weekend stadium series game do not include the usual Jumbootron results table. This makes the app time of the application work even more valuable.
“This is where the clock may be more needed,” Walkom said. “You can lose there in a big stadium on ice. This will be very good for the announcements inside and about the penalty expiration. We have taken it to a point where we feel comfortable and trusting technology.”
When they were given the opportunity to use the Comms Watch NHL app in game situations, officials have danced the case.
“We are excited with the approval level of 92.5 percent,” Lehanski said. “Next to an extraordinary number to be right from the gate without a mandate. As we have seen in the past with the participation of the iPads on benches, as some of those people have a chance to see it and experience it physically, in the live setting environment, it doesn’t take long for them to become comfortable quickly with it.”
Bottom Line: Anyway that can help officials do their job more effectively is welcome.
“Officials are very important to support the integrity of the game because you have two teams there they want to win every night,” Walkom said. “You get the way to win by doing what you do. But you don’t want to get the way for no reason. Everything helps you avoid getting on the road and allows you to get good vision lines to do your job is a benefit.”