Kimball provides inside look at interview process for draft-eligible players

The 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held June 28-29 at Sphere in Las Vegas. The first round will be June 28 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS) and rounds 2-7 are on June 29 (11:30 ET; ESPN+, NHLN, SN, SN1). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. Today, peak performance specialist Dr. Aimee Kimball offers an inside look at the interviewing process that takes place during the NHL Scouting Combine. NHL.com's full draft coverage can be found here.

Nico Hischier was a wide-eyed, 18-year-old student of the game when he was first introduced to peak performance specialist Dr. Aimee Kimball and the rest of the New Jersey Devils managerial team for a group dinner during the 2017 NHL Scouting Combine.

Kimball, tasked with putting Hischier at ease in what many would consider a stressful situation for one of the top teenagers eligible for the 2017 NHL Draft, sat next to him during the 90-minute dinner engagement.

"He talked about how he was invited to go to Nashville with a few of the other top prospects (for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final)," Kimball told NHL.com. "I asked him if he had a catfish and explained that Nashville fans were throwing catfish onto the ice before the start of playoff games. I made him a fake proposition: 'If you throw a catfish onto the ice, we'll pick you first.'"

New Jersey had the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft.

Hischier smiled, conversation continued, and meals were consumed over the next 40 minutes before Kimball asked Hischier if he had any questions. He looked at her and asked, 'Where can I get a catfish?'"

Kimball still considers it one of the more memorable moments of her 18 seasons working in player profiling and development prior to the draft with the Pittsburgh Penguins (2006-16), Devils (2016-21) and Washington Capitals (2021-24).

"In addition to it showing his willingness to do what it takes, it was a sign of maturity and the fact he connected that, he was listening to the conversation," Kimball said. "Sometimes it's hard to really engage 18-year-old boys even if it's for 15 minutes in an interview."

Hischier was chosen No. 1 in the 2017 draft and has been Devils captain the past four seasons.

Kimball has twice won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins (2009, 2016), served as the mental skills coach with the silver medal-winning U.S. Women's ice hockey team at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, and won a Calder Cup with Hershey, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Capitals, last season.

She's also played a key role in learning about draft-eligible players off the ice for teams she's represented the past 14 years at the combine.

"In a short period of time, teams can get a lot out of the Combine if they ask the right questions in the right ways," Kimball said. "Scouts see what the on-ice potential of the player might be, and my job is to look at his personality and how it's going to help him reach his potential. The other part is, is he going to add value to the team because of his personality or could he detract in some way?"

Kimball said casual conversation was the norm during the interviewing stage of the combine and she encouraged her group to schedule players that generated the greatest interest on Day One so as not to get rehearsed answers. She added that even though it's set up as a friendly chat, it's also time to dig in a little more if there is anything concerning on or off the ice.

"I'm a proponent of being direct and asking the questions that need to be asked," Kimball said. "If someone's coachability is a concern, look the player in the eyes, address it with him, and see how he responds."

Kimball's perspective is different from that of a scout since she has no preconceived notion of the type of player she'll be interviewing. To her, the projected No. 1 pick in a given draft is equal to the player that's ranked No. 100 on NHL Central Scouting's list of North American skaters.

"It's this blank slate of being able to say, 'OK, who is this person sitting in front of me? What's he like, what's he passionate about?'" she said.

In addition to Hischier, Kimball remembered four other past players who interviewed well.

"Cole Caufield (Montreal Canadiens) was just so competitive," she said. "He had this great energy about him. K'Andre Miller (New York Rangers) was very driven, very motivated. Moritz Seider (Detroit Red Wings) had such a fun, positive personality that I knew would be infectious in a locker room. I remember him leaving and turning to the others in the room saying, 'I'd put him on my team any day.'

"Miro Heiskanen (Dallas Stars) wanted to be a hockey player and there's something about a player so passionate about that because they need to really love the sport. It's a grind. It really is."

Kimball said the combine might not change the opinion of a scout about a player, but it provides clarity.

What's her go-to question to break the ice?

"It depends, but I'll usually say, 'We're talking to a lot of different people about you, so what do you think they'll say? How do you think other people see you and do you agree with that opinion?'" she said.

"How you behaved in the past tends to predict how you're going to behave in the future so understanding situations is important. My favorite question I asked was made up on the spot because I wasn't getting a true sense if the player thought playing in the NHL was easy, if he was committed to it, or if he just wanted to win."

The question: Would you rather have a 10-year NHL career and never win the Stanley Cup, or play one season, win the Cup and never play again?

"I actually don't remember his answer but all the scouts in the room hated that question because they thought it was unfair," Kimball said. "There's not really a right answer to it but it kind of shows a little bit about what motivates them and what's driving them."

Kimball's advice to combine invites would be to have fun and be yourself.

"The people in the room are doing a lot more interviews during the week than you are, so smile, be memorable, and show them what you'd be adding to the culture of the team."