Six years into retirement as an on-ice official, Jackson says he misses some things, others not so much, happy to be an important part of ESPN’s NHL coverage.
“I miss the pregame meal with the guys, talking about hockey, families, our lives,” he said. “I miss the travel to some degree. I never liked the travel, but I liked being on the road. I’d miss my family, of course, but today I miss seeing North America the way I used to get to see it.”
But the stress, Jackson added, is happily left behind.
“Some guys handle it better than others,” he said. “Stephen Walkom (a former colleague who today is an NHL executive vice president and the League’s director of officiating) is a great example. During the Final last month, we’d go for a walk every day. We’ve been friends since 1986.
“I told Stephen how I admired his ability, when he was a referee, to shake things off. He could make the worst call ever and while he wouldn’t laugh about it, he’d say, ‘Well, I can’t change anything, why worry about it? I’ll just be better next game,’ and it was gone from his memory. I’d fret for three days over a bad call, not sleep, just stare at the ceiling. I don’t miss that.”
What still burns brightly in Jackson is the energy that hockey brought him every time he skated onto the rink, whether it was in front of parents at Bob Birnie or sold-out NHL arenas.
“Just getting out on the ice,” he said. “In the NHL, the music playing, lights dimmed, the roar of the crowd, standing at center ice for the anthems. It’s like going to an airshow and having an F-18 fly overhead — you get emotional, you feel it in your chest. I miss that.”
Top photo: Dave Jackson on July 4, 2024, at Bob Birnie Arena in Montreal-suburban Pointe-Claire, a figure-skating practice on the ice behind him.
