Featured Inductee: Derek Amell - Hockey

Year Inducted: 2023
Home Town: Oshawa

More about Derek Amell:
Derek Amell, a former Oshawa resident, had an incredible career as an NHL linesman from 1997 to 2021.Born in Port Colborne, Ontario, Derek spent 20 formative years living in Oshawa, and attended both Paul Dwyer High School and Durham College. He began officiating minor hockey at 21, in his second year at Durham College, and quickly rose up through the ranks.After just one year with the Ontario Minor Hockey Association, Derek was hired by the Ontario Hockey Association to officiate Junior B and Junior C games, and just two years after that, he advanced to the Ontario Hockey League. Derek spent four years with the OHL before earning a job with the American Hockey League when a franchise came to Hamilton. That year, he worked both the OHL finals and the AHL’s Calder Cup finals.The following year, in 1997, Derek was offered a 40-40 contract by the National Hockey League, meaning he would split his time between the NHL and AHL. He worked his first NHL game on Oct. 11, 1997, and became a full-time NHL linesman the following year, at age 29. Derek went on to officiate 1,497 regular season games and 215 playoff games, including eight Stanley Cup finals. In addition, he worked the 2011 NHL Winter Classic, the 2017 Coors Light Stadium Series and the gold medal game of the 2014 Sochi Olympics.