Scouting: Is seeing a guy play live necessary?

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Seachd

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Mar 16, 2002
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I don't think watching players is absolutely necessary to form an opinion, but it'll certainly make you more confident in your opinion.

BUT, if someone says they've seen a player live, that doesn't really mean much to me. You still have to trust your source. Just because someone's seen a player live, doesn't mean I have to believe everything he says.

If I told someone I'd seen a certain player live, and then given my opinions, I wouldn't expect him to take them as gospel.
 

Hiishawk

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Sometimes it depends on what kind of game you are scouting.

Sometimes, when I was scouting, there'd be only a player or two we'd be focusing on in a game. In that case, you want to watch the player(s) the WHOLE time- to catch all the nuances of their games in depth- positioning, anticipation, reading the ice etc that you just can't get from a video or TV. Also, on video sometimes a player who is just out of the video frame is affecting the play, positively or negatively- if you're focusing only on one or two players you want to know that.

On the other hand I've covered games where you are watching almost everyone- The Prospects' game, U18s, 4 Nations etc. In that case you often can't really help but focus upon the area around the puck more- much like video. It makes less diffrence in these cases.
 

Chimaera

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Feb 4, 2004
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I don't think it's a must...


But it really depends on the quality of the scouting tape. Television broadcasts are a joke when you're trying to scout/watch players. They miss other things that are crucial to see. Does the player take off the end of his shifts, does he follow the play? Good positioning away from the puck? things like that.


But you can see those with scout tape, if it's taken by someone who's knowledgable in what you're looking for.


Up close or live and in person is a good thing, but not critical...
 

Hiishawk

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One important additional point. Seeing a guy 10 times rather than three does not necessarily increase accurate scouting reports. Often, if you see a player TOO much you can make up your mind early and stop noticing anything but the ideas about a player that you set early.

That's why, instead of having one scout watch a player 10-15 times, NHL teams prefer to have 3 or 4 scouts see the player 2 or 3 times each to get varied but fresh perspectives and then try to draft a consensus from all those scouting reports.
 

liveviewings

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May 20, 2004
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Yes you must see players live. NO NHL team would draft a guy soley on tv viewings. Get real. This is something fans like Mizral and x-sharkie like to tell themselves so they can pretend to be scouts on line. The fact is if you didn't need to see guys live teams wouldn't pay scouting staffs to do so.
 

Vlad The Impaler

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Feb 27, 2002
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steblick said:
One important additional point. Seeing a guy 10 times rather than three does not necessarily increase accurate scouting reports. Often, if you see a player TOO much you can make up your mind early and stop noticing anything but the ideas about a player that you set early.

That's why, instead of having one scout watch a player 10-15 times, NHL teams prefer to have 3 or 4 scouts see the player 2 or 3 times each to get varied but fresh perspectives and then try to draft a consensus from all those scouting reports.

Varied perspectives are great. As for the number of viewings, the more I see the kids play, the more accurate I am. What works for me may not work for you and the reverse applies.

But I'll look at a guy in different situations and be much more comfortable.

If you're lucky and see a guy play a game that is representative of what he can do, you can get a good read in one game. That just isn't always the case for me. In the end, I think everybody has his own recipe. (and with various level of success)
 

Vlad The Impaler

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liveviewings said:
Yes you must see players live. NO NHL team would draft a guy soley on tv viewings. Get real. This is something fans like Mizral and x-sharkie like to tell themselves so they can pretend to be scouts on line. The fact is if you didn't need to see guys live teams wouldn't pay scouting staffs to do so.

Put that way, you are right. These are professionals, they do this for a living and it is their JOB to get an edge. That's their work. They would be complete idiots if they didn't go see the guys live, and do a ton of little things.

But no, you don't necessarly MUST see players live to get an accurate read. No matter how much you want it to be so, it won't make it true. Sorry about that.

There's a lot of things that you must do in optimal conditions, and a lot of them that you can manage to do in less than optimal conditions. I will never pretend I am a scout. But I have managed accurate readings often enough to be pretty satisfied, all for the sheer fun of it.
 
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