Re: LSSU Laker Hockey 2012-2013, Part 2
Bill, I tried to reply twice before this afternoon, but the post left my computer screen before I was ready to send it - I'll try again.
It wasn't me that posted about a "middleman" who tried to guide student/athletes to a D1 program for the middleman's benefit - I would NEVER do that. However, I have served as a neutral third party to connect
a prospect with a D1 school who was interested in him before the school could contact them to avoid an NCAA violation. (It's OK for a student/athlete to contact a program before it's legal for the program to
contact the player).
I also serve as a "bird dog" for numerous D1 & D111 programs to provide an independent scouting report of HS or Junior prospects. I respond to specific requests from individual coaches or provide unsolicited
inputs for players I watch. I scout teams at tournament or playoffs, watching for players wh catch my eye. I like to watch a game when I know nothing about the players on either team. I worked for USA Hockey for a number of years before the Development Program was established. I watched eastern prep school tournaments when my son attended Kimball Union Academy. I actally started scouting back when my oldest son played for Compuware and plaed at the Octoberfest in Kitchner. The first player I everscouted was #2 on the London Squirt Major AAA team - Eric Lindros (not a bad way to start). I saw him later in that season in Ottawa when his parents had movedto Toronto and eric played for the Toronto Marlies. I have a box full of programs from every tournament my two sons played in including several International events that yougest so, Matt, played in. I used the same rating system from the early days and it fun to look back and see some of the names that later showed up inthe NHL team. It's also interesting to see the very top players I scouted who I never heard anyting about again. I found out that I batted about .500 in predicting future success, especially in the younger players who might have been big for their age or later shied away from physical play.
Getting back to assisting in the recruiting process, I have learned that many/most recruiters have no problem of evslusting a players skill set, but seldom have enough information about what's in their mind and especially in their heart. The example I use is Brian Rafalski. He's a 1973 like my older son and I don't remember ever seeing him at a Compuware tryout in his younger days. He played for teams like the Michigan Nationals AAA teams and even back then,wasn't usually the #1 D-man on his team. There were easily a dozen AAAD-men above him just in the state of Michigan. Nobody could predict just how dedicated he was and how long he would hand in there waiting for someone to "discover" him. Lou Lamirello (sp?) NJ Devils GM did that when he was scouting a forward on a team Rafalski'swas playing in Europe. When he returned to NJ and proudly told his scouting staff that he had found the best free agent D-man in the works, they chuckled an told him that they had been telling him that for years and Lou told them he was too small. We all know that he went on to be paired with Scott Stevens with the Devils and then Nick Lidstrom with the Wings.......not bad company, eh?
Bill, I tried to reply twice before this afternoon, but the post left my computer screen before I was ready to send it - I'll try again.
It wasn't me that posted about a "middleman" who tried to guide student/athletes to a D1 program for the middleman's benefit - I would NEVER do that. However, I have served as a neutral third party to connect
a prospect with a D1 school who was interested in him before the school could contact them to avoid an NCAA violation. (It's OK for a student/athlete to contact a program before it's legal for the program to
contact the player).
I also serve as a "bird dog" for numerous D1 & D111 programs to provide an independent scouting report of HS or Junior prospects. I respond to specific requests from individual coaches or provide unsolicited
inputs for players I watch. I scout teams at tournament or playoffs, watching for players wh catch my eye. I like to watch a game when I know nothing about the players on either team. I worked for USA Hockey for a number of years before the Development Program was established. I watched eastern prep school tournaments when my son attended Kimball Union Academy. I actally started scouting back when my oldest son played for Compuware and plaed at the Octoberfest in Kitchner. The first player I everscouted was #2 on the London Squirt Major AAA team - Eric Lindros (not a bad way to start). I saw him later in that season in Ottawa when his parents had movedto Toronto and eric played for the Toronto Marlies. I have a box full of programs from every tournament my two sons played in including several International events that yougest so, Matt, played in. I used the same rating system from the early days and it fun to look back and see some of the names that later showed up inthe NHL team. It's also interesting to see the very top players I scouted who I never heard anyting about again. I found out that I batted about .500 in predicting future success, especially in the younger players who might have been big for their age or later shied away from physical play.
Getting back to assisting in the recruiting process, I have learned that many/most recruiters have no problem of evslusting a players skill set, but seldom have enough information about what's in their mind and especially in their heart. The example I use is Brian Rafalski. He's a 1973 like my older son and I don't remember ever seeing him at a Compuware tryout in his younger days. He played for teams like the Michigan Nationals AAA teams and even back then,wasn't usually the #1 D-man on his team. There were easily a dozen AAAD-men above him just in the state of Michigan. Nobody could predict just how dedicated he was and how long he would hand in there waiting for someone to "discover" him. Lou Lamirello (sp?) NJ Devils GM did that when he was scouting a forward on a team Rafalski'swas playing in Europe. When he returned to NJ and proudly told his scouting staff that he had found the best free agent D-man in the works, they chuckled an told him that they had been telling him that for years and Lou told them he was too small. We all know that he went on to be paired with Scott Stevens with the Devils and then Nick Lidstrom with the Wings.......not bad company, eh?