It’s getting wilder and wilder, guys! In tonight’s game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Washington Capitals, the game was halted in the third period for the ref to announce that “Columbus number 10 (Dmitri Voronkov) received a ten minute misconduct earlier in the period, he was no longer eligible, and then he was on the ice. So there was an illegal player for Columbus on the ice. They have a minor penalty for an illegal player. And number 10 for Columbus is still removed from the hockey game.” 

The clip of the incident was posted by the Gino Hard X account, which pointed out that this penalty was “a new one.” The cameras then panned out to the Columbus players and coaching staff on the bench, who appeared to be…laughing! Dean Evason can be seen yelling back at the referee Jon McIsaac as the players seated on the bench appear to laugh. The commentators joke at the matter, noting that Dean Evason seemed to be saying, “I had no idea he was supposed to be in the room.” Either way, though the Blue Jackets got a minor penalty for an illegal player, the NHL refs are going to be facing major backlash for not spotting him on the ice so soon after the misconduct!

A little later in the game, commentator Ray Ferraro broke down what happened. “During the commercial break, the officials were over here talking to the Columbus bench. What I learned was Voronkov doesn’t speak any English, so the official told him, “You have ten minute misconduct, so he just nodded, but he didn’t understand, and he came to the bench, and the Blue Jackets had no idea that he had a misconduct, so he just came back on the ice.”

Sure, it’s a missable thing in such a fast-paced game, or is it? Dmitri Voronkov was given the ten minute misconduct for the altercation he got into with Capitals’ Pierre Luc Dubois. Dubois was also handed a ten minute misconduct, so could it really have been easy to miss that Voronkov was soon back on the ice? Well, apparently so, because when the referee announced the 10-minute penalty, it appears Voronkov thought he was referring to his jersey number, which is 10, according to Aaron Portzline of the Athletic.

And Columbus coach Dean Evason admitted the coaching staff’s faux pas regarding the penalty, “Well, we got an accountability meeting with the coaching staff tonight or tomorrow morning. But ultimately, it’s on me. We have to communicate that.” However, it still seems to be a telling sign of the faulty refereeing amidst a series of, let’s just say, some controversial calls and avoidable mishaps.

Before Dmitri Voronkov: other mistakes NHL refs have made this season

In March of this year, NHL referee Kelly Sutherland inadvertently assisted in setting up the winning goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Colorado Avalanche. Leafs defenseman Simon Benoit hit the puck that deflected off Sutherland, who couldn’t get out of the way. The puck deflected off Sutherland, allowing Toronto to regain possession, which eventually landed in the hands of Steven Lorentz, who scored the game winner. Certainly not the best look for the ref.

Of course, there was also that other time in February, when the Ducks’ Trevor Zegras delivered a high hit on Detroit Red Wings’ Michael Rasmussen. Initially the refs didn’t say anything! Despite Rasmussen being injured. It was only after mass fan outrage and the inputs of some analysts that the NHL declared Zegras’ three-game suspension. Then there was that truly embarrassing incident with Connor McDavid and Conor Garland, where the refs threw a three-game suspension at the former after failing to call a foul when the latter pinned him to the ground, preventing him from making any big moves in the last few minutes of the game.

Needless to say, the fans reaction to Gretzky thanking the refs during Ovechkin’s record-breaking ceremony was unanimous. There was a resounding ‘booo’ through the stadium, a culmination of all the disappointments from the refs this year, and this latest incident with Dmitri Voronkov is just some more egg on the face for the poor NHL officiating team; how on earth will they get out of this one?