Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Epigraph
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
PART 1 - Life at the Corner of the Rink
CHAPTER 1 - An Introduction to Scouting
THE EVOLUTION OF SCOUTING
THE LIFE OF AN AMATEUR SCOUT
SUCCESSFUL SCOUTS
THE NHL ENTRY DRAFT
CHAPTER 2 - Amateur and Professional Scouting
AMATEUR SCOUTS
PROFESSIONAL SCOUTS
CHAPTER 3 - Where to Find Them
THE LEAGUES
WORLD JUNIOR TOURNAMENTS
THE CHALLENGES OF SCOUTING THE LEAGUES
CHAPTER 4 - Tools of the Trade
VIDEO SCOUTING
COMPUTER SOFTWARE
INDEPENDENT SCOUTING DEPARTMENTS
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS FOR HOCKEY
PART 2 - Inside the Secret World of Hockey Scouting
CHAPTER 5 - The Scouting Fraternity
LONG ROAD TRIPS AND BAD COFFEE
HOCKEY HIJINKS
CHAPTER 6 - Influential Scouts
JACK BUTTON, SCOUTING MENTOR
PADDY GINNELL, SCOUTING MENTOR
JOHN FERGUSON SR., SCOUTING MENTOR
MARSHALL JOHNSTON, SCOUTING MENTOR
FRANK BONELLO, SCOUTING MENTOR
BART BRADLEY, SCOUTING MENTOR
LUKE WILLIAMS, SCOUTING MENTOR
LORNE DAVIS, SCOUTING MENTOR
DON LUCE, SCOUTING MENTOR
LOU JANKOWSKI, SCOUTING MENTOR
RICK DUDLEY, SCOUTING MENTOR
GERRY MELYNK, SCOUTING MENTOR
PIERRE DORION SR., SCOUTING MENTOR
ADDITIONAL INFLUENTIAL SCOUTS
PART 3 - How to Tell Who’s Got Game
CHAPTER 7 - Hockey Sense
CHAPTER 8 - Skating
THE BIG PICTURE
CHAPTER 9 - Puck Skills and Puck Movement
HANDS, WRISTS, AND ARMS
ON THE RUSH AND IN TRAFFIC
TIME AND SPACE
PUCK MOVEMENT
PUCK SKILLS FOR DEFENCEMEN
CHAPTER 10 - Shooting the Puck
BODY POSITION
A QUICK SHOOTING RELEASE
SHOOTING ACCURACY vs. POWER
DECEPTION
HAND PLACEMENT WHEN SHOOTING
THE NATURAL SCORER vs. THE DEVELOPING SCORER
CHAPTER 11 - Physical Game
ATTITUDE
GIVING AND TAKING HITS
BOARD PLAY
FIGHTING
CHAPTER 12 - Defensive Hockey
ON-ICE SKILLS
FACE-OFFS
COACHING
ACCEPTING ROLES
CHAPTER 13 - Goaltenders
SKATING
CREASE MECHANICS
SCOUTING THE SAVE
STICKHANDLING
BREAKAWAYS
VISION
MENTAL STATE
PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES
CHAPTER 14 - Defencemen and Forwards
SCOUTING DEFENCEMEN
SCOUTING FORWARDS
CHAPTER 15 - The Intangibles
LEADERSHIP
ICE TIME
COMMUNICATION AND BODY LANGUAGE
OFF-ICE INTANGIBLES
CHAPTER 16 - An Inside Look at a Player Meeting
APPENDIX - Player Development
Index
To my grandfather Buddy Malloy.
“Scouting sucks,” he said emphatically. “Go to the wrong
door and the guy won’t let you in the rink because you don’t
have the right ID . . . Missed the train back . . . Try to find a
hotel. All that type of screwy stuff. Whatever those guys
make they ought to get a raise because it sucks.”
Ken Hitchock,
Stanley Cup Winning NHL Coach
Foreword
By Brian Burke
The lifeblood of the National Hockey League is scouting, and its largely invisible army of unsung heroes consists of seven hundred or so full- and part-time scouts, both amateur and professional.
Here’s an ad for a scouting position: “Wanted: NHL Amateur Scout. Need a keen eye for projecting how players who are seventeen will play when they are twenty-five years old in the best league in the world. Pay only fair, hours long, travel brutal. Bushels of criticism and scorn from the media when you’re wrong. Faint praise when you’re right. Multiple relocations likely over your career.”An ad for a professional scout wouldn’t be much different.
The Art of Scouting peels away the layers involved in securing players on your NHL roster. You have to find them, then draft them, then develop them into NHL players. Shane Malloy goes into great detail on the problem of unearthing players and getting them to the show. The information is accurate and interesting. But what makes this book fascinating is the overlay of expert commentary from the team personnel themselves. Every tale the author tells, every process he describes, is buttressed by commentary from the troops in the field, veteran insiders with savvy, know-how and a proven history of success.
The Art of Scouting is a book that every hockey fan will want to read. For the serious fan, and especially for the young man or woman who hopes to work in the field, this is a must-read.
Shane Malloy is no stranger to the business of hockey and no novice when it comes to writing about hockey prospects.
A donation from the proceeds of this book will go to the Brendan Burke Memorial Internship to assist college graduates pursuing a career in hockey operations.
BRENDAN BURKE MEMORIAL INTERNSHIP
The annual 12-month internship was recently announced and is intended for a recent college graduate interested in hockey operations as a career. The internship has been established in memory of the late Brendan Burke, who passed away unexpectedly on February 5, 2010, at age 21. Brendan, the son of Brian Burke, general manager of the 2010 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team, was a student at Miami University and served as a hockey operations assistant with Miami’s men’s ice hockey team.
USA Hockey Foundation
Brendan Burke Memorial Internship
1775 Bob Johnson Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80906
www.USAHockey.com
Miami University
Brendan Burke Memorial Scholarship
Office of Development
725 East Chestnut Street
Oxford, OH 45056-2480
www.forloveandhonor.org
Preface
Like those of most Canadian boys, my dreams of becoming an NHL player faded away as reality set in, but my passion for the game remains as vibrant as ever. I was fortunate to have a grandfather who was not only a player and a fan of hockey but also a student of the game. We would spend countless hours glued to the television set, watching game after game. Often our excitement (and, occasionally, our frustration) led to hypothetical questions, such as, “If you were the general manager or coach, what would you do?”
Watching the games on TV was one thing, but going to real live NHL games was the greatest thing ever. I distinctly remember my first NHL game. It was December 16, 1979, and the Edmonton Oilers faced the Winnipeg Jets at the Northlands Coliseum. To this day, the sounds and smells of that game still flash by every time I walk into an arena. We walked through the concourse, and the air crackled with the energy and excitement of the fans. I was seven years old, and I beamed as my grandfather bought me a Wayne Gretzky sweater. In awe, I kept staring down at the new Oilers crest on my chest, heedlessly bumping into people along the way. Having that hockey sweater and a ticket to the game felt like being given the password to a secret club.
The hallway from the concourse to the stands of the Northlands Coliseum was narrow and dark as I shuffled behind my grandfather. When we stepped from it into the brightly lit arena to take our seats, I stopped and stared in utter amazement at the grandeur of it all. And at that moment, I was hooked for life. My grandfather said he had never seen anyone smile so big in his life, he thought my smile was going to split my head in two. The game ended (a 9-2 victory for the Oilers), but the magic never did.
Even as a kid I was interested in what went on behind the scenes—who was making the trades and who was drafting the next big star. I recall sitting at the kitchen table with a couple of notebooks, a newspaper full of the latest stats, and a pile of hockey cards all spread out in front of me. I was busy trying to figure out which players would get traded where and why. I would scribble down potential trades and explain them in as much detail as a 10-year-old kid can come up with. So I guess you could say I’ve always been a Draftnik, fascinated by the process of discovering new talent and building an organization from the ground up—it’s almost better than the game itself. In the beginning I was like most people, thinking, “How hard can it be to pick out the best player on the ice?” But after doing some research, I quickly realized that the most skilled players in a junior or college hockey game are not necessarily the most suited for the NHL. It became evident to me that scouting is not an exact science, but a learned skill based on science, art, and intuition.
After realizing that my initial thoughts on scouting were wrong, I stepped back and re-evaluated. Finding the answer to “How does a scout know who is a potential NHL player?” became a quest. At first I thought I could get the insight from fellow members of the media, but even the veterans were just as in the dark as I was. To satisfy my curiosity, it made sense to go directly to the source: the scouts themselves. But much to my dismay, the scouts were unwilling to simply give away their trade secrets. In the world of scouting, information on the process and the players is a commodity worth more than gold.
At this point I had a dilemma: I had questions and the only people who had the answers were not sharing. So I asked Craig Button, at the time General Manager of the Calgary Flames, his thoughts on the matter, and he said, “The best way to understand scouting is to pay your dues and learn to scout.” He told me to go to as many games as I could, to sit in the corner of the rink, and to take notes on what I saw. He advised me to make a list of skills I thought were important and to use that as a guide, to keep an open mind, to not rush to judgement, and to ask questions.
Following his advice, I immersed myself in the scouting industry and the development of players. It took a long time to understand what to look for, as the ability to break down players’ skills is not an easy task. The difficulty is compounded by the need to project players’ potential into the future to determine if they have what it takes to make it at the next level. I discovered the role of scout is multi-faceted—they’re expected to be Nostradamus, Sigmund Freud, Dick Tracy, and James Bond all rolled into one.
I was lucky enough to have Paddy Ginnell and Lorne Davis tell me some of the little rules of the scouting fraternity, which helped me become accepted as a peer. House rules include: never ask a scout about his list for the upcoming Draft, demonstrate your work ethic and commitment by being at every game you can, stand by your opinion and be able to back it up, be fair in your player assessments, and most importantly, treat everyone with courtesy and respect regardless of their position.
Armed with their tips, I spent a decade learning the craft of scouting and interviewing countless scouts. Then I decided to use what I’d learned to create The Art of Scouting. Have you ever wondered how an NHL scout decides which teenager will become an NHL player five years down the road? Well, you’re not alone; fans and even hockey insiders have asked this question for generations, and this book will help to answer it. The Art of Scouting is for any hockey fan who ever wondered about the how and why of the secret world of scouting hockey. You’ll get a peek inside the fascinating world of scouting, understand the impact that scouts have on the quality of the game, appreciate how tough their job is, and learn how they make their evaluations.
Perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned after attending over 1,500 games is that you can’t claim to know it all. Not a day goes by when you don’t learn something new. In the spirit of always learning, I’ve created a companion website (www.artofscouting.com) that will have updates, more information, and discussions for both diehard Draftniks and those who have just caught the scouting bug.
Acknowledgements
Anytime someone decides to put pen to paper, the words become like a living, breathing entity that cannot continue to survive without the love and support of many people. I have been blessed with the loving support of my fiancée, Tanya, whose patience is unrivalled. The enthusiasm of my family and friends helped make this book fun to write, and I will always appreciate their support. Without Arnold and Rose Steiner and their family, I know my life would have been drastically different and this book would always have remained a dream.
Special thanks go to Mel Schmidt who assisted me in transcribing many interviews during the last few months. Her hyper devotion and love affair with Pierre McGuire’s voice always made me laugh, and I owe her a debt of gratitude. Thanks to my editor and trusted friend Chris McCluskey, who is perhaps the most underrated hockey writer on the planet. To my literary agent Leigh Augustine who took care of the details and made things easy for me. To Karen Milner, my executive editor at John Wiley & Sons who believed in and championed this project from day one, and my editor, Diana Byron, I can never say thank you enough.
This foray into the world of hockey scouting began over a decade ago when I started writing a prospect column for FOX Sports. At the time, there were very few hockey media outlets that had any interest in discussing the next generation of players on a regular basis. Fortunately for me, Scott Wilson, the hockey editor at FOX Sports, gave me an opportunity to explore this unique aspect of the game. I asked a fine group of up-and-coming writers to contribute with me, and if it were not for the hard work of Eugene Belashchenko, Brad Coccimiglio, Chris McCluskey, Jason Shaner, Craig Stancher, and Adam Wodon, the discussion of prospects never would have had the success it has. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that I was fortunate enough to sit beside Eric Duhatschek and Kelly Hrudey in the press box; their advice and mentorship helped steer me around many landmines.
From a scouting perspective, I was also very fortunate to sit down beside Paddy Ginnell and Lorne Davis, two veteran NHL scouts who introduced me to scouting. Both gentlemen were gracious with their time and gave me the initial tools I needed to learn the trade and form my own opinions. I was also lucky to meet Craig Button, who at the time was the Calgary Flames general manager. Despite how busy he was on a day-to-day basis, he always took the time to answer any questions I had and made me feel like a peer. I am compelled to mention three current NHL scouts—Glen Dirk, Bruce Haralson, and Tim Burke—who have helped me understand the business and history of scouting. The dedication they have to their profession and the respect they show to their peers make them stewards of the game.
At the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, I was a guest on an Internet radio show hosted by Russ Cohen on the Sportsology Radio Network. This turned into a co-hosting gig with Russ for The NHL Hour, also on the Sportsology Radio Network. Little did I realize that one radio spot would introduce me to one of my best friends and open up a whole new world of broadcasting. It also led to our Hockey Prospect show and the Business of Hockey show on XM Home Ice, where we can still be heard today. If not for Russ’s unwavering support and belief in me over the past eight years, most of my projects would not have seen the light of day.
A special thanks goes to the many members of the media who have helped me along the way, for no apparent reason other than I must have looked like I really needed it. All these people have made a tremendous difference: Eugene Belashchenko, Darren Dreger, Jonathan Gilhen, Randy Gorman, Louie Jean, Chris Johnston, Gus Katsaros, Patrick King, Peter Loubardias, Bob McKenzie, Rick Quinton, Dan Russell, Matt Sekeras, Colin Tiggelaar, Daniel Tolensky, Stu Walters, and Jonathan West. To everyone over at XM Home Ice who stuck with us during the initial stages of our show—we owe you all beers. In particular, thanks to Joe Thistle, the program director at XM Home Ice, who stood by us and saw the value of the content and gave us tremendous creative leeway. The online web producers at Rogers Sportsnet and TSN who had to edit my ramblings in the past are some of my favourite people. Thanks also to both Phil Coffey and Shawn Roarke at NHL.com who gave me an opportunity to provide prospect content to a mass audience when very few saw its importance.
To the guys at Ramp Management and Ramp Interactive—Edmund Chu, Brendan Kenny, Brad Kronewitt, Marc Kronewitt, and Marshall Kronewitt: your guidance and support have been nothing short of amazing. Thanks to all the player agents who take my calls and give me their time and professionalism, and who take more public grief than they deserve. One player agent in particular I would like to thank is Kurt Overhardt, who has become a trusted confidant.
This book never would have been transformed into reality without the help of the public relations departments at the NHL, AHL, CHL, USHL, Hockey Canada, USA Hockey, and IIHF. You have my constant appreciation and gratitude for hunting down people and making them available to me. Three individuals at the NHL office who I must make a special note of are Mark Fischel, Dave McCarthy, and Julie Young, who always take care of both Russ Cohen and I. My eternal gratitude goes out to the Calgary Flames’ Peter Hanlon and Sean O’Brien, as they gave me my first media credentials to the NHL and that opened the door.
Finally, to the fraternity of scouts who contributed to this book, and to all of them who made me feel like one of the guys, my respect for you cannot be measured. There is a list of scouting and NHL personnel, past and present, that I must acknowledge. It was their direct contribution not only to this project but also as my mentors in learning to scout that made all of this possible. I will always be in debt to Tim Burke, Doug Wilson, and the entire San Jose Sharks scouting staff for allowing me to sit in on their NHL Draft player meetings.
CONTRIBUTORS
Mike Antonovich, Amateur Scout (St. Louis Blues)
Mike Barnett, Director of U.S. Amateur Scouting (New York Rangers)
Marc Bergevin, Director of Player Personnel (Chicago Blackhawks)
Tim Bernhardt, Director of Amateur Scouting (Dallas Stars)
Craig Billington, Assistant General Manager (Colorado Avalanche)
Scott Bradley, Director of Player Personnel (Boston Bruins)
Bob Brown, Amateur Scout (Edmonton Oilers)
Brian Burke, General Manager (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Tim Burke, Director of Scouting (San Jose Sharks)
Craig Button, NHL Network Analyst and Former NHL General Manager
Tod Button, Director of Scouting (Calgary Flames)
Paul Castron, Director of Amateur Scouting (Columbus Blue Jackets)
Gordie Clark, Director of Player Personnel (New York Rangers)
Glen Cochrane, Amateur Scout (Anaheim Ducks)
Marcel Comeau, Head Scout (Atlanta Thrashers)
Dave Conte, VP of Hockey Operations, Director of Scouting (New Jersey Devils)
Jeff Crisp, Amateur Scout (Anaheim Ducks)
Brad Davis, Amateur Scout (Edmonton Oilers)
Craig Demetrick, Amateur Scout (Florida Panthers)
Glen Dirk, Amateur Scout (New Jersey Devils)
Rick Dudley, General Manager (Atlanta Thrashers)
John Ferguson Jr., Director of Pro Scouting (San Jose Sharks)
Brent Flahr, Assistant General Manager (Minnesota Wild)
Cliff Fletcher, Legendary Former NHL General Manager
Emile Francis, Legendary Former NHL General Manager, Scout, and Player
Pat Funk, Amateur Scout (San Jose Sharks)
Mike Futa, Co-Director of Amateur Scouting (Los Angeles Kings)
Ernie Gare, Amateur Scout (New York Rangers)
Laurence Gilman, Assistant General Manager (Vancouver Canucks)
Dan Ginnell, Amateur Scout (St. Louis Blues)
Erin Ginnell, Amateur Scout (Florida Panthers)
Jeff Gorton, Assistant Director of Player Personnel (New York Rangers)
Keith Gretzky, Director of Amateur Scouting (Phoenix Coyotes)
Brian Gross, Amateur Scout (San Jose Sharks)
Jim Hammett, NHL Scout
Bruce Haralson, Pro Scout (Detroit Red Wings)
Jay Heinbuck, Director of Amateur Scouting (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Paul Henry, Hockey Consultant and Former NHL Scout
Corey Hirsch, Goalie Scout (St. Louis Blues)
Charlie Hodge, Amateur Scout (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Dennis Holland, Amateur Scout (Dallas Stars)
Paul Holmgren, General Manager (Philadelphia Flyers)
Ryan Jankowski, Amateur Scout (Montreal Canadiens)
Al Jensen, NHL Central Scouting
Marshall Johnston, Director of Professional Scouting (Carolina Hurricanes)
Vaughn Karpan, Pro Scout (Montreal Canadiens)
Jeff Kealtey, Chief Amateur Scout (Nashville Predators)
Jarmo Kekalainen, General Manager (Jokerit Helsinki)
Mark Kelley, Director of Amateur Scouting (Chicago Blackhawks)
Tim Keon, Amateur Scout (Chicago Blackhawks)
Rick Knickle, Amateur Scout (Nashville Predators)
Tom Kurvers, Assistant General Manager (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Rick Lanz, Amateur Scout (Colorado Avalanche)
Scott Luce, Director of Amateur Scouting (Florida Panthers)
Tony MacDonald, Director of Amateur Scouting (Carolina Hurricanes)
Stu MacGregor, Director of Amateur Scouting (Edmonton Oilers)
Ross Mahoney, Director of Amateur Scouting (Washington Capitals)
Garth Malarchuk, Amateur Scout (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Dean Malkoc, Amateur Scout (Boston Bruins)
E.J. McGuire, Director (NHL Central Scouting)
Pierre McGuire, TSN Analyst and Former NHL Coach and Scout
Ernie “Punch” McLean, Legendary WHL Coach
Tom McVie, Pro Scout (Boston Bruins)
Jim Nill, Assistant General Manager (Detroit Red Wings)
Gerry O’Flaherty, Pro Scout (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Larry Pleau, Former NHL General Manager (St. Louis Blues)
Kevin Prendergast, Head Scout (Hockey Canada)
Terry Richardson, Amateur Scout (Washington Capitals)
Doug Rose, Hockey Skills Coach
Greg Royce, Amateur Scout (Ottawa Senators)
Mark Seidel, Director of Scouting (NACS)
Harkie Singh, Former NHL Scout
Marty Stein, Amateur Scout (Detroit Red Wings)
Geoff Stevens, Amateur Scout (New Jersey Devils)
Trevor Timmins, Director of Player Recruitment (Montreal Canadiens)
Brad Treliving, Assistant General Manager (Phoenix Coyotes)
John Williams, Assistant Director of Amateur Scouting (Columbus Blue Jackets)
Doug Wilson, General Manager (San Jose Sharks)
Jim Yaworski, Owner of Belfast Giants and Former NHL Scout
PART 1
Life at the Corner of the Rink
CHAPTER 1
An Introduction to Scouting
“It’s easy to go out to a game and pick out the best players. Every
fan knows the guy who got the hat trick that night probably is one
of the better players in the game. But it’s not easy to go to the
game and see the guy on the fourth line who had five shifts, did
everything right, played his position, had good read and react, and
is a big skinny guy who, once he gets strength, is going to be an
above average skater and contribute down the road. It takes time
and patience and a lot of practice to fine-tune that art.”
Scott Luce, Director of Amateur Scouting, Florida Panthers
Did you ever wonder how NHL teams decide which teenagers have the stuff to live out their dreams and become NHL players? Well, it’s the scouts who make that possible—working tirelessly behind the scenes and examining thousands of prospective players in order to select the one or two who will become a perfect addition to their team. The Art of Scouting is for any hockey fan who has ever been curious about what really happens in the secret world of scouting hockey. Its storytelling is combined with insights from some of the best scouts in the business, including the scouts’ views on particular aspects of the art of scouting and their individual opinions and tales of observation.
Scouting is an industry with a rich history and unique culture. The Art of Scouting gives readers an inside look at how the scouting world of today came to be and at its foundation, which is the hard work and camaraderie of the scouts. It also examines how prospects are evaluated and developed. During a prospect’s pivotal draft year, scouts must determine if he has what it takes to become an elite-level player, and I share with you the in-depth analysis that scouts use to make these assessments. Through my discussions with scouts, directors of amateur scouting, directors of player personnel, and assistant general managers, I bring to light the secretive trade of deciding who plays in the NHL and who does not.
There is no more difficult job in the entire game of hockey than that of an amateur scout, and the game would suffer if not for the dedication of these individuals. Players face an arduous journey to the NHL; there are injuries, pitfalls, and roadblocks challenging these young prospects, and scouts have to analyze all of this in order to make the best selections for their teams. Despite the impact scouting has on the success of a team, little is known about it because there has never been a book that delved deeply into how scouts scout—until now.
THE EVOLUTION OF SCOUTING
The scouting traditions and the mindset of the industry all stem from the original scouts who forged the trail. Like everything else, scouting has evolved over the years. It has changed from a small group of bird dogs in the days of the Original Six to the current environment, which includes 30 NHL scouting departments and an NHL Central Scouting bureau.
Tim Burke, Director of Scouting, San Jose Sharks, remembers how small the scouting fraternity was back in his early days. The number of scouts and the vast areas they must scour for talent have increased dramatically in the last 20 years. Anytime a group expands its numbers, some of the relationships inevitably change. While the new generation of scouts adds to the tapestry, the sheer numbers result in a less tightly knit community.
“Back in the late ’80s we were at a Four Nations Tournament. There were 15 scouts at the Four Nations. Jack Button took a picture and mailed it to me a month later. Fifteen scouts! So in ’87, ’88, every year you had the same group of guys going over there, and now you go to one of those tournaments and there are over 200 scouts, it’s unbelievable. We used to travel in Europe like a travelling road show, with characters like J.C. Tremblay and Gerry Melynk. Every one of them loved their team when you go back and think about it, and they respected other scouts. It wasn’t like now; there are so many of them that it’s hard to really get to know the people as well.”
Not only has the size of the industry grown, but so have the technological advancements. Although observing the game live is still the primary tool for scouts, how they collect and manage the information they obtain has certainly changed. Lou Jankowski was a scout for the New York Rangers in the early days, and his son, second-generation NHL scout Ryan Jankowski, recalls his father’s challenges.
“I would come home from school a lot of days and he’d be sitting at the kitchen table writing out his reports. Hand writing his reports, hand writing his expenses—that’s what they did back then. There were no computers, there were no fancy gadgets that there are now, like the BlackBerrys and Palm Pilots, where you can do them right at the rink. I’d say that was the essence of scouting; that’s when it was in its purest form. We tend to overcomplicate things now because of the technology that we have. Whereas back then, there were three reports, you know, that the scouts would do. They would do like a November report, they’d do a mid-season report, and they’d do a year-end report on these players. It’d be a triplicate copy, there would be a white copy, a pink copy, and a yellow copy. Well, the white and pink ones would go to New York and the yellow one would stay in his filing cabinet downstairs.”
Ryan Jankowski, Amateur Scout, Montreal Canadiens
THE LIFE OF AN AMATEUR SCOUT
When you see a group of men huddled over their coffees in the corner of the rink, odds are they’re hockey scouts. They like to watch their prospective players from the corner of the rink because it provides an unobstructed view of all aspects of a player’s game—the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Recruiting the right players is so critical to the success of NHL teams that they dedicate entire departments to the pursuit. But what exactly do scouts do, besides spend a lot of time freezing their butts off at the rink and drinking bad coffee? Essentially, they scour arenas all over the globe in search of players who can, eventually, help their team win a Stanley Cup.
Generally, if amateur scouts are working from their home base, they will devote time in the morning to watching game film from the previous night’s games. They will be looking for any clues they may have missed while watching the games live. If the schedule works out, the scouts will also watch the morning practices of the local junior teams and perhaps speak to the coaches and players. Most scouts have two or three junior or college teams in their area, which means they can watch a game six days a week (on average) without travelling. On a game night, the scouts congregate in a designated room at the arena about an hour and a half before the game to prepare and talk shop with their brethren. Each scout has a booklet where he notes the team’s lineups and scratches and where he designates which players he will focus on that night. After the game is over, scouts head down to the dressing rooms to speak to players or coaches and collect additional information for their reports. Then they drive home, finish their scouting reports, and type them into the database while everything is still fresh in their minds.
Their routine changes slightly when they must travel to see prospects in another part of the region or in another part of the country. Depending on the location, a scout may drive five or six hours, check into a hotel, find a restaurant so he can get something to eat, and then shuffle off to the rink. Now, it may seem like fun being out on the hunt for the next NHL star and, for the most part, it is. However, imagine being away from your family for 10 days or more every month and travelling the icy back roads in Saskatchewan. It’s all the little things that wear on scouts, like having to deal with airports, rental cars, changing hotels, and finding a decent meal. Anyone who has travelled for work understands that this lifestyle can drain the body and mind, especially considering most of the locales scouts visit are not exotic. And this ritual goes on from September to May every year—no wonder scouts all look haggard by the end of the season.
Throughout the hockey season, NHL scouting departments have meetings with all of their amateur scouts to discuss the players they have seen. This allows them to get information on the players who will make up their final list heading into the NHL Entry Draft. Each organization has certain characteristics that they favour in a player, and this allows the scouts to narrow their search. Once prospects have been physically and psychologically evaluated at the NHL combine, scouts have one final meeting to compile their list of preferred players for the Draft. In addition, most NHL scouting departments will gather a few days before the Draft to hash over any last-minute strategies and information. This also gives teams one last chance to meet with players directly and get a final impression of the young men they might select.
“There are two factions of the hockey world that are completely overlooked. One is the trainers and the equipment managers and the second is the amateur scouts. The lifeblood of any organization is the talent that the amateur scouts find year in and year out, and these guys only have two days to do their job. They do their job the whole year, but they only have two days where it is showtime. That is extremely difficult, but the best ones seemingly do it right all the time.”
Pierre McGuire, TSN Broadcaster
SUCCESSFUL SCOUTS
So, what makes a successful scout? Is it as easy as choosing the best player on each respective junior or college team? Or is there an art and learned skill to finding a diamond in the rough? Scouting would certainly be easier if there was a guidebook handed down from one scout to another, but to my knowledge no such magic tome exists. Scouting is a combination of gathering hard facts and relying on gut feelings. Scouts have to be one part detective, one part art appraiser, and one part psychologist (and owning a crystal ball doesn’t hurt either). While there is no blueprint for becoming a successful scout, having an open mind, patience, plus good research and interpersonal skills are all critical. Good scouts are able to self-analyze and look back over previous choices so they can analyze what did and did not work in order to avoid repeating mistakes.
What qualifies as success for a scout? At the end of their season, after thousands of games, videos, and interviews, how does a team measure a scout’s success? According to a variety of NHL general managers and directors of amateur scouting, the consensus is that the goal is to get two NHL players out of every Draft. Since each Draft now consists of seven rounds, that means only two of the seven or more players selected by a team each year will successfully reach the NHL.
“It’s the only job where you can be right 15 percent of the time and be ruled a Hall of Famer or a success. You are going to be wrong 85 or 80 percent of the time, and if you hit on 2.5 home runs every Draft, you are par with some of the best scouts ever.”
Mike Futa, Co-Director of Amateur Scouting,
Los Angeles Kings
THE NHL ENTRY DRAFT
In June of each year, all the NHL teams gather for the NHL Entry Draft. Created in 1963, the Draft provides teams with the opportunity to select players who are entering the NHL for the first time. Eligible players include North Americans and Europeans who are 17-20 years old.
All of the work scouts do throughout the year culminates at the NHL Entry Draft. That’s right, all those months of work and countless hours of watching hockey come down to two days in June, when all the information they have gathered is condensed into the list of players that their teams would like to acquire. The NHL holds a lottery to decide the order in which the teams get to make the first 14 picks. After that, the order is based on how the teams performed during the previous season. The lottery system helps to limit the risk of teams “throwing games” in order to earn a better draft pick.