If you asked a hockey fan in this town to name the scouts for the Edmonton Oilers — amateur and pro — they would be hard-pressed but here and throughout the NHL they’re the lifeblood of the game.
They sit in rinks, writing notes, keeping their opinions to themselves on kids, not much older than their own, trying to figure out how good they’ll be in a few years.
But on July 30, in Okotoks, the fledgling Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation will salute a sterling opening class of 45 past and present scouts at their inaugural Wall of Honour dinner.
The honourees include several with Oiler ties — Barry Fraser and Lorne Davis, who have both passed away, had a huge hand in the Oilers glory days scouting.
The retired Kevin Prendergast, who worked on Fraser’s amateur staff before becoming the team’s VP of hockey operations and eventually assistant GM, played a big part in drafting Ales Hemsky, Andrew Cogliano and Sam Gagner.
Pro scout Garnet “Ace” Bailey, who tragically passed away during the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, as well as colourful ex-fighter Archie Henderson, who was a long-time pro scout for the Oilers
Also the Edmonton-born Wayne Meier, who has won three Stanley Cup rings with Pittsburgh and the late Elmer Benning, who put over one-million kilometres on his 1985 Toyota Camry travelling the roads scouting the Western Hockey League for close to 50 years for the Montreal Canadiens.
‘Going to be mistakes’
“How difficult is scouting? We know it’s not a perfect exercise, we know there are going to be mistakes. I know from working with Les Jackson in Dallas, he always said scouts can be wrong, but they have to have an opinion,” said TSN’s Craig Button, who has scouted thousands of teenagers, is on the WCPFSF board and is also being honoured in Okotoks at their Centennial Arena.
Like Davis.
“Dad boasted about standing up for (Grant) Fuhr and (Ryan) Smyth, but I think he was proudest of drafting (Kelly) Buchberger in the ninth round, (1,182 NHL games) although I think my mom Shirley talked dad into picking Bucky because she loved watched Bucky play in Moose Jaw,” kidded Davis’ son Darrell, the Regina Leader-Post columnist who is going to Okotoks with his son and nephew to his father.
Fraser, instrumental in all the great Oiler picks in the early 80s, saw more hockey rinks in North America and Europe than just about any scout, until he moved to Cabo San Lucas.
“When Barry lived there, they teased him after Scott Gomez got drafted (New Jersey)… finally a Mexican hockey player, and you didn’t pick him,” joked Darrell Davis.
Fraser has his name on the Stanley Cup five times, Davis and Bailey three.
“I remember Barry telling me once after watching Paul Coffey (junior), ‘if that guy can’t play in the NHL, I don’t belong as a scout,’’’ said Button.
“Hockey scouts need confidence with what they’re seeing. You’re not going to bat 1000, not even close to that. But Barry had a full understanding of what the Oilers needed to build a team. He would tell me that the Oilers wanted a group of different players.
“Mark Messier was different from Wayne Gretzky, Grant Fuhr was different from Paul Coffey, Kevin Lowe was different from Jari Kurri. He said to me it was easy to find third-line (scouting) players or second-pairing defenceman. But Barry said to me ‘eventually we knew we were going to have to replace Gretzky, Messier and Kurri,’ so we were drafting high-end skill (and hoping).”
Button said scouts like Davis looked far beyond intangibles like their strong skating ability.
“I think of Lornie Davis, and his wide-range of experience. He was part of the 1980 Canadian Olympic team (coaching) staff. As a scout, he would say ‘I believe in Ryan Smyth, who may not be the best skater.’ But what Barry and Lornie were looking for were hockey players. Scouts aren’t looking for speed-skaters. How many kids have had this magnificent talent but couldn’t play a lick of hockey?’’ said Button, whose dad Jack started the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau.
“Mistakes are made. When Paul Coffey’s drafted you go ‘yeah.’ But when you draft a player who doesn’t turn out, you have to have the confidence to keep picking and look at why that player you selected didn’t make it.”
Button also told a pointed scouting story about Edmonton-born Gerry Melnyk, also being honoured in Okotoks when he stuck his neck out and pushed hard for Bobby Clarke, a diabetic, when he was working for the Flyers.
“Gerry told me one day, ‘Craig I have two lovely children in my house and (wife) Jeannette and I love those children every single day and we’re not sure how it’s going to work out with them,” said Button.
“But we’re (scouts) expected to go and watch 17 and 18-year-old kids, not knowing their background fully until there’s some investigating about their character, and I’m supposed to tell you how they’re going to turn out at 21 or 22, or 23?’ It’s imperfect, there’s a lot of unknowns.
“I got all this credit for Bobby Clarke which is great, but they’re not pulling out all the other (draft) skeletons from my closet,” said Melnyk.
‘Solitary endeavour’
Button knows scouts, better than most.
“While the scouting community is a great one, it’s a very solitary endeavour… there may be other scouts in the building, but you’re sitting by yourself,” said Button.
“All the scouts from Lorne’s early days (getting recognized in Okotoks) like (Gerry) Ehman, Melnyk, (Torchy) Schell, (Bart) Bradley, (Clare) Rothermel, right up to present day guys like Ross Mahoney and Al Murray. I’m looking forward to the event,” said Darrell Davis.
Button recalls a story about Benning watching an Oil Kings game, one night before he passed in 2018, and he was asked if there were any good draftable WHL players he was watching that night. Benning smiled softly and said t was a weak crop in the WHL, but he did mention a player in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, who had scouts talking.
“There’s a defenceman in the AJHL named Cale Makar, though. He’s the best player I’ve seen in 20 years,” said Benning.
Now, Makar is one of the 10 best players in the world.
Button keeps coming back to scouts taking swings on teenagers, though.
“I remember an old New Jersey scout David Conte telling me ‘you haven’t scouted until you’ve made a million dollar mistake,’’’ said Button.
“David said you watch a player for two or three years before you draft them, and you’re excited for your team when they do. Then you start to watch the player and hope he progresses (as a pro) and when he doesn’t, you’re going ‘oh boy.’ There’s the signing bonus you’ve spent, the time (and money) to have him in the minors. That’s the million-dollar mistake.”
Scouting is about highs and lows and now we raise a glass to Fraser and Davis, Prendergast and Ace, Archie and Elmer and all the rest, for doing the often anonymous work.