Feature Story
What the scouts are looking for
Let’s Play Hockey Columnist
I am asked the question “What are the
scouts really looking for?” fairly often not only by high school players, but
also high school coaches and even youth coaches. “Scouts” can include high school coaches
looking at bantam players and the myriad of scouts and coaches watching high
school players (Triple A Midget, several Jr. A
leagues, the Elite League, USA Hockey, DIII colleges, DI colleges,
At our 2007 Upper Midwest High School
Elite League, we often had 70 to 110 of these representatives in the bleachers
on any given day. The same will be true for our Xposure
tournament in the spring.
High school teams can have anywhere from
a few to a couple dozen at competitive games. It is amazing how many scouts are
watching our
Not every high school player is being
scouted, but some teams such as Hill-Murray, White Bear Lake, Edina, Duluth
East, Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Grand Forks Red River, Breck and Wausau West may have 2-3 — or even 6-7 players on
somebody’s “watch list”.
Every scout has his/her own list of
critical items or skills. There do seem to be a few that are fairly common.
1. Skating
It is
impossible to be too good a skater — and very possible to be not a good enough
skater. For forwards, quickness and speed with the puck counts. For defensemen,
the requirements are higher because they include more backwards and sideways
skills.
I often hear
scouts describe a player as “one step slow.” That’s only really a quickness
issue, generally. Players can’t work on skating too much. Short burst and
corners are the key. Quads and hamstrings are the key
muscles to work on off-ice and on-ice.
2. Effort
A pretty easy one. I’ve seen
very good hockey players (skating, skills, etc.) not go anywhere because they
don’t put out effort. Effort gets more important as the level of play goes up
because more people try harder at these levels.
There are
also key areas where effort is watched. These include: at the end (contact
point) of a forecheck; on backchecks;
in support situations (without the puck); defensively; along the boards.
Toughness
goes with effort. Often, “lazy” players are just what we call “shy” in traffic
or along the boards.
3. Defensive Responsibilities
Of course
this is different for forwards and defensemen. For forwards, it means watching
the situation in the offensive zone, neutral zone positioning and coverage,
back checking effort and coverage in the defensive zone. A forward that is a
defensive liability generally won’t go far unless the offensive output is
enormous. That “plus-minus” stat will get them.
For
defensemen, this area is paramount, of course.
Even what we call “offensive defensemen” have to be good defensively.
While the plus-minus stat is not the only measure of a defenseman, it is the
primary one. A defenseman constantly “up the ice” will not often be able to
counteract the resulting minus with enough goal
creating output (pluses).
4. Making Positive Things Happen
Really good
players often have positive things happening in all areas of the ice because of
their play. The puck goes out of the defensive zone easier; movement through
the neutral zone is easier; there are more chances on goal; the forecheck is more effective. There is a long list of good
things. The opposition is “put on alert” when they are on the ice. Other
characteristics listed (1, 2, 3, 5) are most often the reason for good
performance in this one.
5. Anticipation
One scout
explained this to me by saying “good players are slightly ahead of everybody else
as to where the game is going.” I thought that was a great description.
When I was
young, the Detroit Red Wings had training camp in my home town (Sault Ste.
Marie) and there was also a senior professional team as well as good junior
teams in both Sault Ste. Marie’s (
My friends
and I watched a great deal of very good hockey — and tried things out all
winter long. We didn’t have as many other competing activities in 150 inches of
snow!
I think we
understood the game a little better than most kids today and we were able to
anticipate better because of it. Studying the game can help players with this item — just
like football QB’s study game film. To some degree
anticipation is also in the genes.
Notice that
none of the above items include discussions about size, strength, goals or
assists. Size is important, but strength is more critical. Short is ok if
bulky/strong goes with it. Scoring is good, but players have to have many of
the other things as well.
Last of all,
what about goaltenders? Well, they come
in all sizes and shapes, all levels of effort and skills and all manner of mental
makeup. In the end, they have to be able to stop shots. It’s the only real
measure that counts!
John Russo, Ph.D., is founder and
director of the