Scouts face immense pressure as drafting becomes the sole path to NHL contention, shaping futures and determining team success.
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The Stakes Are Always Well Done - Mar. 25, 2019, Vol. 72, Issue 12 - Brian Costello
THE SCOUTING REPORT ON scouts these days is pretty simple: thick skin and lots of it. While they’re busy evaluating which speedy, young players have good hands, compete hard and have high hockey IQs, the pressure on these professional talent evaluators is greater than ever.
In a salary-cap environment with soon to be 32 NHL franchises, the only way to truly build a contending team is through the draft. Remember back in the day when the New York Rangers or Toronto Maple Leafs would try and buy or trade their way out of trouble? You can’t sign your way or deal your way to the top anymore – though the Columbus Blue Jackets are giving it a shot. You have to do it by finding cheap, young talent, developing these prospects, then keeping them for the long term.
The stakes to scout well, extremely well, are sky high, probably more than ever. A team with too many misses at the draft table is a team that will spin its wheels, because no one gives away good players for nothing.
Take a look at the top forward and top defenseman on each of the 31 teams, and you see 77 percent of them (23 forwards and 25 blueliners) are homegrown. Find them, raise them, never get rid of them. It’s the only way.
That’s why it’s stressful running a scouting department. If your team’s scouts hit a dry spell, or if your team doesn’t get a lot of early picks, you start to see dark clouds build on the horizon. Let’s face it, the long-term future for the Pittsburgh Penguins isn’t bright. By the time next season starts, their four marquee stars will be 32 or older. And with a prospect list ranked the weakest in the NHL, there aren’t enough blue-chip reinforcements to replace them when they age out. Eventually, the win-for-now Penguins will have to rebuild through the draft. It’s inevitable. Just like the Los Angeles Kings have started to realize.
Some teams are at the other end of the spectrum. We’ve watched with dropped jaws these past weeks as the Ottawa Senators go through what they hope is an accelerated rebuild. They traded their stars for picks and prospects. Now it’s time for the scouts and talent developers to perform. With a deep list of prospects and 21-and-under NHLers – ranked No. 6 league wide – and with 15 picks in the first three rounds of the next three drafts, the expectation is heavy on these Ottawa scouts.
The Rangers went in that direction last year, actually going to the measured lengths of calling a press conference to announce they were rebuilding. “The time was right,” said Rangers GM Jeff Gorton. “There was no point fighting it.” They made trades for prospects and picks, and a year later they’ve groomed an impressive list (see pg. 14).
In Edmonton, where fans are becoming desperate to see the team take advantage of Connor McDavid’s most productive years, the scouting department is feeling the heat. “There’s definitely more pressure when the team isn’t doing well,” said Oilers vice-president of player development Scott Howson. “But you can’t change the way you scout too much. It’s still all about finding the best player.”
Ahh, finding the best player. That’s the mandate of every team. Beyond the first 15 or 20 picks in the draft, it’s also the most difficult task. With so many teams sharing the same mentality and every fan knowing that, it’s no wonder you need thick skin to be a scout.
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