Enter Through the Side Door
When looking to gain a foothold in hockey ops, my suggestion would be, use the side door. Find something adjacent to scouting and work yourself up through bringing value. That's the only way I could build my own career.
Fortunately, the professional world of hockey is changing, like it always has. These shifts generate opportunity that did not exist beforehand. That's where focus should to best distinguish yourself among a field of applicants.
It's solving a problem that hasn't been labeled yet. Its making yourself useful. That's the side door. Below I have roughly listed some top of mind ideas about changes the industry has gone through among the last 5-10 years..
-NCAA eligibility for CHL players. The development path for young players, drafted prospects and undrafted free agents has shifted. On the coaching side of this, the recruitment pool has tripled so needs are probably different.
-AHL exemption for 19 year old prospects drafted from the OHL, WHL, QMJHL. Starting this year, NHL clubs will be permitted to assign one 19 year old reserve list prospect to the AHL. Before this, prospects coming from the CHL had to be 20 which led to a majority spending minimum of 2 years on an amateur team.
-Geography is changing when it comes to scouting efficiency, particularly on the pro side of things. The two examples above show this, NCAA is more concentrated with top prospects. AHL will have an extra young player who is probably a top 19 year old prospect. Pro scouts need to fish where the fish are. Sometimes being in the right location can make a difference.
-Roles keep becoming specialized. It's not only the amateur or pro lane anymore. Reserve list scouting touches each. Undrafted free agents among NCAA, CHL, and Europe often need their own set of eyes. Goalie scouts. When I started, scouts wore a ton of hats, its much more focused today.
-USHL west coast expansion will be here in two years.
I can go on with many more. I tried to keep it brief but these are examples of why it's important to start something before its an industry standard. Early on, my internship was cutting video. I did that for many more years while slowly scouting after the daily front office work. Video at the time was met with a ton of resistance, internally and externally, glamorous, but that got me inside the rink.
In 2014 I covered the US region on the amateur side. The USHL was becoming more of a priority. I would fly to Chicago and either connect or rent a car to drive somewhere. I realized its more efficient to be based in Chicago, it was not the hotbed for scouting yet. Glad I moved there.
In 2021 I put together an outline for a role I felt we needed. It sat for a year before it got approved My role expanded and I began covering reserve list (drafted) prospects. It was a niche role that was not a standard yet, but more common today.
