The Summer Exposure Combine, held from July 16-19 in Budapest, Hungary, recently wrapped up with four officials on their way to the NHL camp.
The annual event – now in its third year – is held in partnership with the National Hockey League to help ice hockey officials at every level improve their skills, expand their knowledge, and meet fellow referees from around the world
This year’s program featured extensive experience from the National Hockey League, with NHL Senior Director of Officiating Scouting & Development Al Kimmel in attendance alongside former NHL refs and current officiating managers Mike Leggo and Mark Faucette, officiating manager Chris Edwards, NHL officiating fitness consultant Dave Smith and, NHL Director of Video Operations Tom Masters.
They were joined by a pair of international officials in long-time IIHF referee Lars Bruggemann and KHL referee Peter Gebei.
Four officials from the camp have been selected to attend the NHL’s Exposure Combine later this summer in Buffalo, New York.
Officials Hollie Neenan (United Kingdom), Jeroen Klijberg (Netherlands), Vincent Brüggemann (Germany), and Máté Gampel (Hungary) will be joining over 100 other officiating hopefuls at the NHL’s annual program.
From the combine organizers:
Hollie, Jeroen, Vincent, and Máté have all demonstrated the mix of judgment, skating ability, and composure that the NHL looks for. They’ve also shown the humility to keep learning, which may be the most important trait of all. We’re proud to see them take this next step and confident they’ll represent the Combine—and their home federations—with the highest professionalism.
To everyone who has contributed to this journey, thank you. Achievements like these remind us why every early-morning faceoff, every rule-book quiz, and every feedback session matters. We’ll be cheering our four officials from afar and using their success as motivation to keep pushing the program forward.
Congratulations to all on a successful camp, and best of luck in their respective upcoming seasons!
