NHL scouts focus first on fundamentals: acceleration, speed, shot strength, accuracy. Then they look deeper: "Identifying the intangibles in a kid is the toughest part of scouting, " says Jim Nill, head scout for the Detroit Red Wings. Small kids can get bigger. Weak kids can get stronger. Bad skaters can learn to skate better. But what is their character like? Will they work hard? You have a gut feeling that only comes from experience.
The Wings adhere to a consistent draft philosophy of selecting high-skill, high-hockey IQ skaters designed to find hidden gems in the ranks of seemingly flawed players. In short, skill and hockey sense trump size and speed.
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