NHL Draft: Scouting Department Works Year-Round With Eye On The Prize

For the Canucks' amateur scouting department, preparing for the NHL Draft is a year-round process.

Each new regime sets their own agenda. President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford, and General Manager Patrik Allvin set the vision for the club. The scouting and analytics departments analyze and evaluate based on that vision. Assistant General Manager Cammi Granato and Director of Amateur Scouting Todd Harvey collaborate with the departments, consolidates the information, and makesrecommendations to management.

Granato oversees the scouting department and creates a handbook that aligns with the vision and philosophy of the management group. It includes core characteristics the club looks for in a player, and a rating standard for various skills.

Granato, who was the first female professional scout in NHL history for the Seattle Kraken, says the handbookhelps in narrowing down the pool.

"Measuring projection is hard for any team, assessing whether a player has hit his peak, are they fully developed? Are they finished growing? Do they have more gains to make in the gym?" Granato said, adding, "When it comes to scouting, it's about getting enough views, the ability to project the player and using your gut feel. Then the eye test of the scouts and analytics find a proper fit for the order of players."

There are 13 scouts that divide and conquer ground between four divisions: Canada East, Canada West, USA, and Europe. Harvey works closely with Granato, as he monitors their schedules, reports and lists of potential players from the eligible draft pool that spans from North America to Europe. He eventually comes up with the final list of draft prospects.

Harvey is also responsible for scouting and selecting players in the first three rounds. Assistant General Manager Derek Clancey, Wyatt Smith in the crossover role, and Bobbie Haglin, support the evaluation of rounds one through three, while also assessing rounds four through seven with the rest of the scouting staff.

The scouting season starts at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup at the end of July with opportunity to attend international tournaments throughout the summer until the regular season starts in October. Scouts also attend major tournaments such as the U18 World Championship, World Juniors, and World Championships in addition to prospect games for the USHL and CHL to see best-on-best action.

A scout makes notes after each game and after watching a player three times, rates the player and evaluates which round and place they could see him drafted.

"A player could start the year off in the seventh round in the fall, but by the spring they're in the first or second round. There's movement all over during the year, because they're young kids and they develop at different rates," Granato said.

In January, the scouts and the management group kick off the new year with a mid-term roundtable to deliberate over the prospect list. The group gets a chance to present players they've been watching over the late summer and fall.

"You're vouching for players and putting yourself on the line, you're going to bat for them," Granato said, adding there's good communication at these days-long meetings. "You want to have the dialogue, so people start thinking. The next day you come back [to the meeting] and someone might have thought about the moving a player up or down. Projecting players is not an easy task, but it's critical to the success of drafting well."

The group gets together again in May to revise the list and it is finalized after the NHL Combine. Allvin, Granato, Clancey, Smith and mental performance consultant Alex Hodgins attend the NHL Combine for one last opportunity to see and talk to the players.

"It's an opportunity talk to the players on your draft list to get an idea of who the person is, how they carry themselves and what their mindset is." You might also take a couple of players to dinner who may be available when you are picking you, just to get some extra time to with them."

Ultimately, Harvey makes the final decision amongst the scouts during debates, which is then presented to management and ownership to make the decision for the NHL Draft.

Given Allvin's 19-year history as a scout, between the Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins, he understands the hours poured into finding players and he trusts his team.

"I have a lot of respect for them. I know how hard they work and the pride they take to make this right," Allvin said. "[The Draft] is a graduation for the scouts, it's a game seven. The excitement for them coming into Nashville, it's well deserved, and I want to make sure they enjoy the time there as well. They definitely have done a great job since I've got in here."