MALCOLM ASHFORD (Image Credit: CFJC Today/Anthony Corea)

By Marty Hastings

Longtime NHL official

Ashford of Kamloops to join B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame

Jan 20, 2026 | 6:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops resident Malcolm Ashford will take his place in the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame this summer. 

The longtime NHL official is part of the Class of 2026, which includes Andrew Ladd, Travis Green, Josh Gorges, former Kamloops Blazers and Junior Oilers goaltender Daryl Reaugh and the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 Vernon Vipers. 

Ashford (who was featured in a Tattle of Hastings episode) called 947 regular season games and 10 playoff games during his on-ice NHL officiating career, which stretched from 1969 to 1979. He was an off-ice official in the NHL from 1994 to 2019. 

Ashford, who was born in Middlesbrough, England, had neither skated nor played hockey when he arrived in Canada at age 11.  

He went on to share the ice with the likes of Jean Béliveau, Henri Richard and Bobby Orr. 

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Ashford, who worked the first Vancouver Canucks game in Vancouver, will enter the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame in the officials’ category, joining eight others, including his friends Lloyd Gilmour and Tom Kowal.  

The induction ceremony is scheduled for July 11 in Penticton.  

Ashford currently serves as a high-performance officiating supervisor in Kamloops.