Referee Mitch Dunning taken to hospital following collision with Avalanche’s Josh Manson

Referee Mitch Dunning left Monday’s game versus the Colorado Avalanche and Philadelphia Flyers following a collision with defenseman Josh Manson.

Dunning was taken to a Philadelphia hospital for precautionary reasons where all neurological signs were reported as normal and that Dunning is fully communicative and can move all his extremities, the NHL announced.

The collision happened early in the first period, with Dunning skating backward toward the blue line at the same time as Manson was entering the offensive zone. Manson did not appear to see Dunning, leading to the collision. Dunning appeared to be moving his right hand and feet when Manson approached him on the ice after the collision. Dunning left on a stretcher after being attended to by on-site medical staff.

Dunning refereed his first NHL game in March 2019 in a contest between the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators, and became a full-time NHL official in 2022. An Ontario native, Dunning’s officiating resume also counts work with Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence including refereeing the 2016 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. As of this October, Dunning has officiated 237 NHL games including 232 as a referee and five as a linesman.

Dunning has previously officiated games in the Ontario Hockey League and later the pro ranks in both the AHL and ECHL. The former junior hockey defenseman played a combined 37 career contests with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting and Windsor Spitfires from 2008-10 before a knee injury pushed him to pursue a career in officiating. He was originally chosen 72nd overall by Sarnia in the 2008 OHL Priority Selection. Dunning’s playing days also counted three seasons and a combined 65 appearances in Ontario’s Junior B circuit.

Monday’s contest between the Avalanche and Flyers continued with a reduced officiating crew counting referee Jean Hebert and linesmen Michel Cormier and Matt MacPherson.