Category Archives: Hockey Scouting 101

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On the Road series (Part 3): Player Evaluation- the Body of Work

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Welcome back for another installment of the “On the Road” series, where we break down hockey scouting in more detail for those who might not be aware of the things that go into the process of player evaluations at the amateur and professional level. If you haven’t already, you can read parts 1 and 2 of the series or jump right into this one.

After touching on the kinds of things that go into basic player evaluation, and we do mean basic- the second part of the blog series was 4,000 words and by no means even came close to hitting everything- it is important to next discuss an aspect of scouting that some would argue is just about as important as a player’s ability to perform- the body of work.

What do we mean by this? Well, body of work is a catch-all for the individual’s character, work ethic, personality, injury history and other behind the scenes factors that teams can research and investigate to develop a more comprehensive read on the individual they are considering drafting. Some fans sit in a bubble and honestly think that drafting and developing players at any level is only about talent and skill. While they’re certainly entitled to their views, real life begs to differ.

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On the Road- Perspectives on hockey scouting Pt. 2: Player evaluation 101

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Welcome back to another segment of “On the Road” where we talk about hockey scouting and the process for lack of a better term to describe evaluating talent, whether it be for the NHL or lower levels. We actually thought about breaking this up into two parts, but the reality is- what goes into evaluating hockey players doesn’t fit neatly into a small box, so here’s about 4k of words worth of material to chew on. If you see that and say, no thanks- we understand. But for those with a genuine interest in some of the things that go into assessments of future NHL talent, we’re glad you’re here.

Truth in lending- your TSP founder is not an NHL scout, but has years of experience as a hockey evaluator with the Chicago Steel (USHL), Red Line Report (independent service) and the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL beyond 17 years as the New England Hockey Journal’s senior NHL draft and prospects analyst. What is discussed in these posts is just one person’s view based on knowledge and experiences- this is not meant to be the first and last word, and is designed to share a POV as opposed to providing a definitive “how-to” or roadmap. Everyone has their own methods and if there was any definitive one way to do it, we would see the NHL draft play out the way everyone else predicted it year after year.

Today’s post addresses the nuts and bolts of player evaluation from the perspective of several scouts including the writer’s. By no means will we touch on every critical element or subject, but this is designed to provide food for thought and for those who have no background in it, provide a baseline of information that we hope will be helpful in your own efforts, whether you’re watching the Boston Bruins or your favorite NHL club, or the AHL, junior or even your favorite high school or child’s minor hockey. Obviously, there is a huge gulf between the various levels, but when it comes to evaluating players and identifying potential, there are some key elements scouts are looking for, and those elements tend to evolve over the years.

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"On the Road" hockey scouting series, Hockey Scouting 101 2 Comments

On the road part 1: some insights on hockey scouting

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The Scouting Post is pleased to debut a new series in which we’ll talk about the world of hockey scouting of amateur prospects and share some insights and anecdotes on our experiences and what the life is like. Some of the names are omitted or changed to protect sources, many of whom are often more candid than their teams would like. This series is also designed to help inform and educate fans who might not be as aware of the process. This is about the sharing of ideas and providing background on the challenging life of an amateur scout, who often has to deal with a lot of different inputs and factors while watching physically underdeveloped (in most cases) teenagers and trying to forecast who has the talent and gusto to be impact players in the National Hockey League.

You are welcome to leave comments and ask questions that we can perhaps address in future posts. As always we appreciate the support of this blog and the civil discourse. Even if you might not agree with some of the methods or conclusions, we can have a robust debate without descending into the white noise that often distracts from good points on opposite sides of the spectrum.

These posts are not intended to be a definitive guide or to capture all the elements of scouting the game but to identify areas where “common knowledge” might not be as common. – KL

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