American International College

Springfield native Kevin Collins was a three-year letterwinner as a member of the men’s ice hockey team before embarking on a career in professional hockey officiating. He started in 61 games while at AIC, totaling 21 goals and 46 assists for 67 points, and was the team’s second-leading scorer in 1970-71 with 34 points.

Collins was a linesman in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 28 seasons, during which he was able to work 12 Stanley Cup Finals and two NHL All-Star Games. In total, Collins officiated 1,964 regular season NHL games and 300 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He also officiated in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, the World Cup of Hockey, and the Canada Cup.

Collins currently serves as the NHL’s Manager of Officiating, a position he’s held since 2006, which includes overseeing the full-time NHL officials, hiring new officials, setting policies and procedures, and selecting playoff officials. He held the same role with the American Hockey League for three years prior to his move to the NHL office.

Collins was recognized for his work in sport in 2008 when he was inducted into the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame. At 25 years he is the longest serving board member of the NHL Officiating Association, where he has held each leadership position and served was the first-ever lineman to serve as the organization’s President.