For years now, YHH hits the rink to see great hockey: winning streaks extended (Edina PeeWees and OMG Squirts), goal scorers scoring big goals (Casey Mittelstadt), and goalies make big saves in big games (Carsen Stokes and Zach Stejskal come to mind). That is what makes our job so much fun.

As we approach the rink at all levels, the quest to be the best or to be recognized is on. Recognition by YHH is likely a nice moment for a player or parent. Winning or being a finalist for an award is probably a big deal. 

But on the grand scheme, any YHH recognition is simply that...recognition. The real recognition comes from scouts at the next level. Players looking for recruitment to high end Tier I hockey (SSM, Omaha, Colorado), College (D1 to D3) and maybe even the Pros (NHL, AHL, ECHL or Europe). 

Elite players in Minnesota would likely cast a net around the Next Level as Division 1 and the NHL....anything short of that is Another Level. There are 600 NHL jobs and 1,200 Division spots. According to College Hockey, Inc. 30% of the NHL is comprised of former D1 stars. Which means only 12 percent actually go from College to the Pros (insert hashtag sobering). Which is an enormous increase compared to ten years prior. 

Division 1 scholarships are offered to players ages 14-20. Generally, they are handed out in three waves:

1. The Cream Wave (14-15) best players at an age level are usually offered a scholarship at or around 9th Grade. Those top players are all saying yes and reserving their college choice during their first year of high school. 

2. The Middle Wave (15-17) great players, who the top schools waited on one more time - watched them in U16/HS/Juniors - some of the best players in the World are Middle Wave guys.

3.The Junior Wave (18-20) late bloomers, played great in MN HS, NA3, NAHL, Tier II Canadian Juniors, or USHL.

So, when we hit the rink and cover players older than 14, we expect to see scouts. At the 14/15 year old level we see mostly WHL scouts looking to evaluate players for their Bantam Entry Draft in May each year. We then start to see USHL and Division 1 scouts starting to appear  at the 15/16 year old age in the Spring heading into their draft and scholarship offer season. 

This Fall, NHL Scouts enter the picture for 17 year old skaters (1998 specifically this year). By now scouts have seen these '98 players a handful of times - they have a nice list to go by generated by NHL Central Scouting. 

So the million dollar question we receive most is, 'What are Scouts looking for?"

We get assorted answers from scouts on what they are looking for, some seem genuine ('size, speed, scoring...") - some seem like statements written for them by a guy in the Communications Department ("players of great work ethic and integrity"). But at the end of the day, the most important thing for players and parents to remember is that they are watching (and watching and watching and watching). 

Off the ice - scouts are watching players every move, how do they interact with others, how do they treat coaches, and how coachable they are off the ice. 

In the Classroom - true or false, players can develop a reputation as a poor student...if you are a Wave 3 (Juniors), your chances of D1 fame become even smaller.

Because there are so few Scholarships and so few Next Level jobs, scouts are paid well to collect as much info as they can to either make a case for a player or against. 

Advice to Parents: you have spent a lot of time and money at a rink the past 10+ years helping your player get to an elite status. From now on do your best to get out of the way. When an elite player is being evaluated, the parent can only be a negative. "Dad is a great guy..." equals zero points in the equation.

Advice to Players: be a good kid off the ice, skate like you mean it when on the ice (never take a shift of)f. That shift might be the one shift a coach who is watching you is watching. And whatever you do, don't look into the stands to see who is there. The best scouts hide behind poles and under bleachers when evaluating.