A Scout's Life Page 3 - The Hockey News

A Scout's Life

A Scout's Life: The importance of coaching

by Rory Boylen - November 13, 2008 9:53 AM EST

In our on-going look at the world of talent evaluation, we examine how a player can be improved based on his junior system.
“Ryan Getzlaf was drafted in the third round of the bantam draft. He had first-round skill, but had some other problems I didn’t like and he wasn’t very big, but he developed.

A Scout's Life: Video review

by Rory Boylen - November 6, 2008 12:14 PM EST

Continuing our look into the job of a scout, we examine both the benefits and drawbacks of tape.
“You know where you find the answers? In the rink.” - Ontario League director of central scouting and player development Robert Kitamura on advice given to him when he first started scouting.

A Scoutâ€™s Life: On the road again

by Rory Boylen - October 30, 2008 12:12 PM EDT

THN.comâ€™s weekly feature on scouting continues by exploring the trials and tribulations of travel.
“Scouting is not something you can push yourself to do. You have to ask yourself: ‘Do I really want to be on the road six days a week for six months, watching 250 games a year?’ ” – NHL scout Having to scout players from different teams in different leagues across different geographic areas can be stress-inducing and, of course, time-consuming.

A Scout's Life: Job security hard to come by

by Rory Boylen - October 23, 2008 11:22 AM EDT

In a world that changes season to season, knowing where you'll be is never certain.
“Reputation and experience don’t necessarily translate into better job security. I knew a guy who had been in the business for 18 years on 18 one-year contracts.

A Scoutâ€™s Life: The importance of give and take

by Rory Boylen - October 16, 2008 12:37 PM EDT

We talk to scouts about keeping an open mind and fighting for who you believe in.
“Eyes open, ears open, mouth shut.” – Paul Charles, Minnesota Wild While a prime condition of being a successful scout is being able to keep your cards close to the chest, not letting on what you may or may not know, when it comes to discussing players with your staff, you have to have the gumption to stand behind what you see in a player, no matter the popular belief.

A Scoutâ€™s Life: So you want to be a scout?

by Rory Boylen - October 9, 2008 11:33 AM EDT

In the first edition of our new feature about scouting, we look at what it takes to get into the field.
“I think a lot of guys in the business will say the same thing: you have to have a passion for the game to do what we do.” – Steve Lyons, Phoenix Coyotes From a distance, scouting can seem like a hockey fanatic’s dream.