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MHOA Recognizes David Knutson

By Minnesota Hockey, 04/12/17, 11:15AM CDT

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Knutson honored with the 2017 MHOA Service Award

The Minnesota Hockey Officials Association (MHOA) established the MHOA Service Award to honor an individual who has unselfishly made outstanding contributions to the officiating program in Minnesota during many years of service to the hockey community as an official and a volunteer. 

David Knutson has spent over three decades officiating hockey games in Minnesota. He started officiating at the youth levels, and after years honing his craft, Knutson expanded his efforts to the high school level. Knutson eventually earned opportunities to officiate at every level of youth hockey state tournaments.

As of today, he’s been a registered USA Hockey official for 33 years and an official for the Minnesota State High School League for 20 years.

Despite his success and lengthy career on the ice, Knutson has made an even bigger impact off the ice, where he has been a volunteer, instructor and mentor to countless referees.  

Knutson was one of the founding members of the Minnesota Hockey Officials Association (MHOA) in 1984 and served on the MHOA board for seven years. During his time with MHOA, he was the state’s first officials supervisor in southern Minnesota, serving first as the MHOA District 4 Supervisor from 1984-1988 and the MHOA South Vice President from 1987-1990. 

For nearly a decade, Knutson was a trailblazer for officiating throughout the regions now known as District 4 and District 9 of Minnesota Hockey. In addition to his positions with MHOA, he played a key role in starting the Southern Minnesota Hockey Officials Association (SMHOA) and served as the president for ten years. He also served as a USA Hockey instructor at officiating clinics for ten years, where he took pride in developing the next wave of young officials.

Throughout his time as an official and volunteer, Knutson worked tirelessly to recruit and mentor referees while also ensuring players, coaches and referees in southern Minnesota were provided with proper development opportunities.

Thank you David for your years of service and outstanding commitment to providing a positive youth hockey experience for everyone involved!

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