What are Hockey Canada GMs looking for when scouting?

I caught up with Dallas Stars GM, and Hockey Canada AGM, Jim Nill about this on Sunday.

There was an informal Hockey Canada summit in the press box on Sunday afternoon in Detroit while the Red Wings hosted the Edmonton Oilers.

St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong, the GM for Team Canada, was in attendance along with Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill and Tampa Bay Lightning GM Julien BriseBois, his two top assistants in selecting the team that will play in the Olympics in February.

I caught up with Nill briefly before the game, and asked the very simple question, “what are you looking for when it comes to Team Canada scouting?”

And when it comes to roster building for Team Canada, a lot of the foundations are already in place. That’s pretty understandable after Canada won the 4 Nations Face-Off back February against the United States.

But Nill said a lot of the scouting for international roster selection is more about contingencies than initial plans.

We all know, for example, that Connor McDavid will be on the team. Same goes for some notable others. But what happens when that first injury happens? As a management staff goes, are you ready to make the right pick when someone gets hurt in late January?

Hockey Canada, Nill said, had those same conversations before 4 Nations, and it was one of the reasons the management group felt confident they were adding the right piece when Thomas Harley joined the team midway through the tournament.

It’s also not just about performance, it’s all about role and player archetype. If a projected third-line winger on Canada’s depth chart gets hurt, you need a player that can fill that role.

There’s also a slightly larger roster for the Olympics than there was for 4 Nations, Nill said, which means two more players will be selected to the initial roster.

While Nill wouldn’t name any specific players, it does feel notable that Hockey Canada brass was closely watching a game featuring Evan Bouchard. Bouchard was one of the final cuts for 4 Nations, and BriseBois watched Edmonton closely Thursday when the Oilers played the Islanders on the road.

This also brings up a larger point that I’d like to make about scouting, and what it does and doesn’t mean.

And you’ve probably heard this rant from me before….

Hockey, like most businesses, is an information business. Scouting is how you build the database.

So when you see scouting assignments, especially those connected to an NHL or AHL game, they rarely mean much of anything. Team also structure their scouting departments differently, one team I know, for example assigns out NHL teams to it’s pro scouts, while others give more of a geographic area.

I had a long chat with one scout today, who is at most Detroit games. His assignments, he says, have never been tied to watching a specific player, but rather building the best database for his organizations GM and head coach.

Just some food for thought, and something that I feel is important to mention because too often we see extended social media reaction over a scouting assignment or a Tweet about which teams are in the building.