January means NHL teams are gathering all their scouting knowledge in one (usually sunny) place to get a framework for the upcoming draft.
The world juniors are over, which means scouts are on their way back to their respective regions to continue scouting the rest of the year, right? Nope. It's mid-term meeting time!
What are mid-term meetings? They're the first time every scout, assistant GM, GM, and president of a team are in the same room since the previous NHL draft. It is the official kick-off to the upcoming draft in June. Here’s an inside look at what happens during January scouting meetings.
Every month, from September to January, the scouting director and crossover scouts (who cover multiple leagues) will jump on a Zoom call with each region. The regions are usually divided as follows: WHL, OHL/QMJHL, U.S. (NCAA, USHL, Prep) and Europe. Some teams separate the U.S. levels, as well as separate Russia from the rest of Europe. It really depends on staffing. They will discuss players from their regions.
In September and October, it is very preliminary and is generally focused on which players to keep a close eye on, who has impressed and who has disappointed. Think about it as a brainstorming, information-gathering session. It’s an opportunity to really discuss who the crossover scouts need to see as we approach the meat of the season.
The November and December calls are a bit more focused. This is when each region will produce some level of player list to give management and crossover scouts an idea of who are the top players from their region.
Crossover scouts and the scouting director will conduct monthly calls after the regional calls to create a list template. They discuss the importance of seeing all the players from each region, with particular interest in the top three rounds.
It goes without saying that you need to see potential first-rounders more than fifth-rounders because you cannot afford a mistake in the first round with how the salary cap is. This year, you can expect to see a lot of senior scouts and management in WHL rinks, with the likes of Connor Bedard, Zach Benson, Brayden Yager, Andrew Cristall and Riley Heidt expected to be top-15 picks. It is vital that crossover scouts see players from all regions regularly, as they will be the ones leaned on to compare players from separate regions and make the final call on who is slotted where on the list.
After the world juniors (where every scouting director and crossover scout should be), you have your first real idea of who will slot where beyond the top end of the draft. Enter mid-term meetings.
Usually, they are conducted somewhere hot – Florida and Arizona are favorites. Scouts are in cold rinks all year, so this is a reward of sorts. Some teams even allow the scouts to bring their wives. Over four days or so, there are meetings in the morning for four-to-five hours, followed by afternoons on the beach, team-planned dinners and, if your team is in town, a suite at the game to do some scouting at the NHL level.
Not only is it an opportunity to meet, but as one head scout put it, “Get a solid base but wear enough sunscreen that I don’t burn.”
The past couple of years, teams have conducted their meetings via Zoom due to COVID-19. With this being the first time in three years that scouts are having meetings in the sunshine, you can bet some fun will be had.
They are there for work, however. Mid-term meetings are about giving management an opportunity to meet face-to-face with their scouts, give a speech on the team's direction and ensure scouts understand expectations.
Given it is the middle of January, management should know what direction their team is taking at the trade deadline and may say things like, “Get to work, we’ll probably have a few more draft picks than usual,” which every scout loves, or “This is a big year for us. We may have less than our seven allotted picks and may not have a first-rounder.”
Naturally, scouts would prefer you don’t trade their picks away, but it gives them an idea of what to expect.
As one scout said, “You’re much more likely to swing on smaller, skill guys if you’ve got 10 picks than if you have four.” While I do not necessarily agree with that sentiment, I understand where it comes from.
Once management gives its spiel, the scouting director takes over. The overwhelming sentiment from directors and scouts is that mid-term meetings are about creating a framework. No one is pounding the table and no one, unless it is for off-ice concerns, is being removed from the list.
These meetings are like the early-season regional ones, mainly information gathering. Each region will have their list, and they’ll go through it and talk about the top players and a few more they would like senior scouts to keep an eye on. Crossover scouts will chime in and give their opinion on certain players, perhaps comparing them to a player in a different region.
If the team values analytics (and they should), the analytics department will present a list of players they believe scouts should watch closely. The usual suspects are always there, perhaps in a different order, but it is more of an opportunity to point out players to watch for later-round selections that are not getting the attention the numbers indicate they deserve.
Over four days, some level of list is made to give everyone an idea of who to watch more closely heading into the second half. Day 1 is usually the management and scouting director spiels, initial impressions and discussion of who has stood out positively or negatively. Then it is a region-by-region run-through. Day 2 is a continuation of the run-through as only 1-2 get done on the first day.
Day 3 is the start of the preliminary list, and this year, Bedard will be at the top for every team. If players are in the right range, it does not matter what order they are in. This is usually the top two rounds. Every team does it a little differently after the top 64 on Day 4. There are player-type lists, buckets of players for each round and keep-an-eye-on players – it is all the same in the end. Teams get a foundation for the year and focus their energy on the most important areas.
Mid-term meetings are something every scout looks forward to. It’s the first chance to see everyone, you’re in the nice weather and really, you’re probably having a lot of fun. The framework is important to the rest of the season, but this is the only set of meetings where there is a chance to bond as a staff. It serves as a nice break because these scouts will be in a rink every night from January to June. You get your work done in the morning and enjoy the beach, the pool and the booze the rest of the day.