I think someone mentioned this around here awhile back since it's from a month ago, but I read someone who summarized it on the Rangers board and thought you might find it interesting.
Finally listening to the Custance/Chayka podcast. Gonna take some running notes...
1. Trading for Stepan and Hjarl wasn't necessarily to put he Yotes over the hump, it was to help accomplish that, but also to make sure he could slot his younger guys into the lineup more properly. Give guys like Keller and Dvorak some shelter.
2. Says the biggest asset they lost is the 7OA. Not DeAngelo. Didn't really care because they had another 1st rounder to play with.
3. They're still in the early stages of what they're trying to accomplish, but not like he has some set 'ten-year plan'
4. Looking for a long run with a good group of players to build their fanbase
5. One goal games are "proven to be random luck"
6. Doesn't necessarily believe "relying on your gut" is a bad thing. Your gut is never totally subjective. It comes from your research and your analysis.
7. "The subjective is another data point that goes into the decision making process"
8. Cites marketing firms as good example of incomplete data sets that decisions need to be made off of. Boy, does that hit me right in the feels. Maybe I'll send him my resume
9. Can't make the tough decision if you're too in tune with the 'human element'
10. Doug Wilson is known as the first guy to call a new GM. Fills you with compliments, and then tries to see what you'll give him.
11. It's a "zero sum game".
12. Changes don't happen instantly. Lag-effect. When you change the scouts or the pro-staff/training staff... It's not going to happen right away.
13. "I'll sit down and talk with pretty much anyone" Okay, he's getting my resume
14. The "private stuff" doesn't make the "public stuff" any worse. Looking for marginal improvements to stay ahead of the curve. Going to collect as much info as possible to stay ahead of things.
15. Not necessarily looking for the next big thing, but the next "any" thing that will become useful. Trying to quantify development, and how do we draft and develop players effectively. Create processes to quantify what drives a players game, what makes them unique, and measure performance improvement.
16. Trying to project players but not ignoring the human-element of the players. Psychological anecdotes are helpful.
17. Says the word 'random' again when discussing the draft, but with that, you can't spend enough money on the draft as it's a team's 'highest ROI'.
18. "7th overall is tough to get an impact player"
19. "If we're reaching, it's a terrible position".
20. They had discussions about Chychrun at 7, but knew they could get him later. Tough to get a top-scorer later than 7, and Keller was that guy, so it happened.
Points 18-20 are really poignant all things considered.
21. Around picks 11 and 12 he started making calls so they could jump up for Chyc.
22. Has the draft chart for each pick's value, but it's obviously not the only thing he uses (duh)
23. Currently reading "Thinking Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman. This has been sitting in my Amazon cart since I read The Undoing Project.
