IIHF names officials for Sochi Olympics, a group that includes 13 from NHL

ZURICH - Seven NHL referees and six linesmen are among the officials named for the men's and women's hockey tournaments at the Sochi Olympics.

The IIHF on Monday announced the 28 officials who will be working the men's tournament and 15 who will be working the women's tournament.

Having NHL referees and linesmen at the Games was part of the agreement between the league, IIHF and NHLPA that sealed players' participation. The referees going are Tim Peel, Dave Jackson, Mike Leggo, Brad Meier, Kevin Pollock, Ian Walsh and Kelly Sutherland, while the linesmen are Lonnie Cameron, Derek Amel, Greg Devorski, Brad Kovachik, Andy McElman and Mark Wheler.

Canadian linesmen Chris Carlson and Jesse Wilmot were also chosen to work the men's tournament. On the women's side, Canadian Melanie Bordeleau is one of six referees and Stephanie Gagnon is one of nine linesmen.

"All of these candidates are considered to be top officials in their respective club leagues," IIHF officiating manager Konstantin Komissarov said in a statement. "We made our decisions on three main criteria: physical conditioning, performance in their respective national championships, and their ability to work in a team."

"This last point is very important for the Olympics, with mixed crews we need to have officials with good communication and teamwork skills so that they can work effectively with each other."