Confirmed with Link: Tim Speltz promoted to head Amateur Scout, Scott Bell hired as Area Scout based in Minnesota

[stickty111]

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[stickty111]

 

[Liminality]

Wonder if this was the hiring we were expecting to hear

 

[93LEAFS]

I have no idea what the organizational chart looks like at this point. What Speltz has been offered sounds exactly like the job John Lilley got.

Wonder if this was the hiring we were expecting to hear

I'm starting to think that fell through as it was just offered to the best of my knowledge but never accepted, or that person can't get out of an existing contract with another entity.

 

[Mess]

With the promoting of long time WHL GM and scout to head of amateur scouting perhaps now the Leafs will be more focused on the WHL his expertise and not be so a sleep at the wheel when it comes to drafting WHLers so that Mat Barzal and Shea Theodore types will not slip through the Leafs grasp in the future.

Might have more Kelowna Rockets on the Leafs also and can't go wrong with that either.

What the Toronto Maple Leafs are getting is experience, connections and knowledge from the Western side of the country and down into Northwestern USA. Speltz is a valuable part of the Toronto Maple Leafs scouting team now

The Toronto Maple Leafs have drafted only four players from the WHL in the top 120 picks of the NHL Draft between the 2015-2018 NHL Drafts. They’re spending a lot of energy in the early rounds in Europe and the United States with a sprinkle of OHL.

Last years pick Filip Kral D - Spokane Chiefs [WHL] is from Speltz former team.

Speltz gives them a strong knowledge base to expand their scouting with players they may not have known much about – whether it’s at the draft, or as undrafted free agents.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

With the promoting of long time WHL GM and scout to head of amateur scouting perhaps now the Leafs will be more focused on the WHL his expertise and not be so a sleep at the wheel when it comes to drafting WHLers so that Mat Barzal and Shea Theodore types will not slip through the Leafs grasp in the future.

Might have more Kelowna Rockets on the Leafs also and can't go wrong with that either.

Not so sure they'll target Kelowna specifically. If anything, he'll target Spokane like crazy since he was a GM there for like 25 years.

Derkatch will probably target Prince Albert a fair bit since he was the former GM there too. Ian Scott for example was Derkatch's selection when he was GM there.

 

[Joey Hoser]

With the promoting of long time WHL GM and scout to head of amateur scouting perhaps now the Leafs will be more focused on the WHL his expertise and not be so a sleep at the wheel when it comes to drafting WHLers so that Mat Barzal and Shea Theodore types will not slip through the Leafs grasp in the future.

Might have more Kelowna Rockets on the Leafs also and can't go wrong with that either.

Yeah I sure hope our management picks players from your hometown junior team, because that's how you build championships.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

I knew the Leafs would go after someone in Minnesota. Ripe with talent but nobody really there. Bell is listed as an "Area Scout" though so maybe that means he's scouting NCAA and pro teams around there as well?

I'm guessing what Speltz is getting pretty much just means the Leafs are cutting out the head regional scouting thing (since Lilley was promoted and Hofford left, leaving just him) and will just have a "Head Scout". Or he'll still be the Head West Scout and the Leafs will still designate someone the Head US and Head East scout but he's the guy who is selected to go to International tournaments and stuff too?

John Lilley – Director of Amateur Scouting
Ari Vuori – Director of European Scouting
Troy Bodie – Director of Pro Scouting
Tim Speltz – Head Scout/Northwestern United States Regional Scouting
Garth Malarchuk – British Columbia/Alberta Regional Scouting
Dale Derkatch – Saskatchewan/Manitoba Regional Scouting
Scott Bell – Minnesota/USHL Regional Scouting
Tony Martino – Chicago/USHL Regional Scouting
Jim Vesey Sr. – Northeastern United States Regional Scouting
John Kisil – Southern Ontario/Michigan/Ohio Regional Scouting
Chris Roque – GTA/Central Ontario Regional Scouting
Real Paiement – West Quebec/Northern Ontario Regional Scouting
Patrick Charbonneau – East Quebec/Maritimes Regional Scouting
Thommie Bergman – Scandinavia Scouting
Robert Nordmark – Scandinavia Scouting
Grigori Shafigulin – Russia Scouting
Olegs Koreskovs – Russia Scouting
Radim Jelinek – Slovakia/Germany/Czechia/Switzerland Scouting
Blair Mackasey – Pro Scout
Ricky Olczyk – Pro Scout
Mike Penny – Pro Scout
Jim Roque – Pro Scout
Tom Watt – Pro Scout

*Assuming nobody leaves or is let go*

I think I tracked that correctly. They have filled all of their holes unless they want another GTA/Central Ontario scout (which was heavily represented by Hunter and Hofford; only Chris Roque is officially located there now) and Head Regional Scouts previously held by Lilley, Hofford and Speltz. There is obviously a lot of area being covered by very few scouts as well, which is probably where Reid Mitchell (Scouting Coordinator) comes in.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Gophers assistant coach Scott Bell leaves to become scout for Maple Leafs

When faced with the option of a contract expiring next spring or leaving for a multi-year deal, Scott Bell opted for longer job security.

Bell, a Gophers assistant men’s hockey coach last season and former team captain, has left the program to join the scouting staff of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. Bell was retained as an assistant when new head coach Bob Motzko was hired to replace Don Lucia in late March, but Bell’s contract with the Gophers ran only through the 2018-19 season.

“There was a lot of uncertainty with Bob coming in, and he never expressed to me that I’d be there going forward,’’ said Bell, 47. “NHL teams found that out, and I had a few teams show some interest."

“I was planning on staying with the Gophers and fulfilling my contract, and then Toronto came back at me with an excellent offer. It was like, ‘Well, I can go on a multi-year contract or stay on a multi-month contract.’ It was a difficult decision because I love the university.’’

Before joining the Gophers for the 2017-18 season, Bell, a two-year Minnesota captain in the mid-1990s, spent the previous five years as a scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was instrumental in the Penguins drafting Jake Guentzel, who scored a combined 23 goals in the past two playoff seasons.

Bell said he’ll have a bigger role with Toronto than he had with Pittsburgh. He will remain based in Minnesota.

“I’ll probably have more responsibility with the top 60 draft list, probably have more of an expanded role,’’ he said.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Seriously, they only have a top 60 draft list? I would hope they'd have a top 150 draft (i.e. enough to cover 5 rounds) list at least... They should have a plan besides the top 60, especially since much of that would likely be taken in the first two or maybe three rounds.

EDIT: I know they do not have a set list for the entire draft, but I thought they would have more than 60 guys they target for sure before letting scouts get their hands on picks. That would be okay for the 6th and 7th rounds, but I would think there should be a more set decision about guys in the 3rd (assuming nobody from their top 60 drops), 4th and 5th rounds at least. I would think that there could be a large enough consensus about 125-150 guys at least.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

Seriously, they only have a top 60 draft list? I would hope they'd have a top 150 draft (i.e. enough to cover 5 rounds) list at least... They should have a plan besides the top 60, especially since much of that would likely be taken in the first two or maybe three rounds.

EDIT: I know they do not have a set list for the entire draft, but I thought they would have more than 60 guys they target for sure before letting scouts get their hands on picks. That would be okay for the 6th and 7th rounds, but I would think there should be a more set decision about guys in the 3rd (assuming nobody from their top 60 drops), 4th and 5th rounds at least. I would think that there could be a large enough consensus about 125-150 guys at least.

It surprises me that a top 60 wouldn’t easily get you through the 3rd?

 

[SeaOfBlue]

It surprises me that a top 60 wouldn’t easily get you through the 3rd?

It depends on how much your board matches up with everyone elses I guess. If the Leafs are any good, they are going to be near the end of the 3rd round when they pick again. I'd be surprised if your 25+ guys are different between the boards unless there really isn't much of a talent gap between the 2nd and 3rd round.

You might get lucky with a guy near the end of your top 60 at best.

And I would still think they should have a decent plan for 4th and 5th round picks too. You need to fill up your depth somehow. Especially if the Leafs end up using prospects to make trades.

 

[Morbo]

With the promoting of long time WHL GM and scout to head of amateur scouting perhaps now the Leafs will be more focused on the WHL his expertise and not be so a sleep at the wheel when it comes to drafting WHLers so that Mat Barzal and Shea Theodore types will not slip through the Leafs grasp in the future..

Barzal was drafted 17th...we picked 4th. were the other 15 teams asleep as well?

 

[Kiwi]

What's the difference between an area scouting manager and a "head scout"?

Besides the name because we actually have a head of amateur scouting in Lilley, he should be in charge I'd imagine

 

[Maplebeasts]

With the promoting of long time WHL GM and scout to head of amateur scouting perhaps now the Leafs will be more focused on the WHL his expertise and not be so a sleep at the wheel when it comes to drafting WHLers so that Mat Barzal and Shea Theodore types will not slip through the Leafs grasp in the future.

Might have more Kelowna Rockets on the Leafs also and can't go wrong with that either.

You just couldn't help yourself could you? It's not even like we missed out.

 

[Menzinger]

Interesting about Bell - he was a former captain of the Gophers (U of Minnesota) hockey team and was recently made an assistant coach for that team.

Nice to see the Leafs take more of an interest in the wider MN region - a place that gets overlooked too much by a lot of Canadian teams.

 

[Leaf Fans]

Barzal was drafted 17th...we picked 4th. were the other 15 teams asleep as well?

We picked Marner at 4 the only way we could have been asleep at wheel there is not trading back into the first round. Barzal is good, strome, zacha, Crouse, zayanov are the only "asleep at the wheel" picks. Besides he went 16th via NYI didn't he? Connor went 17th to the peg.

 

[Morbo]

We picked Marner at 4 the only way we could have been asleep at wheel there is not trading back into the first round. Barzal is good, strome, zacha, Crouse, zayanov are the only "asleep at the wheel" picks. Besides he went 16th via NYI didn't he? Connor went 17th to the peg.

right yeah. but the point stands, asleep at the wheel is ridiculous in that context

 

[SeaOfBlue]

right yeah. but the point stands, asleep at the wheel is ridiculous in that context

Nobody was going to trade up in that draft either. It was way too deep for it to be worth it. Only time it really happened was when someone dropped (i.e. Konecny).

 

[93LEAFS]

Seriously, they only have a top 60 draft list? I would hope they'd have a top 150 draft (i.e. enough to cover 5 rounds) list at least... They should have a plan besides the top 60, especially since much of that would likely be taken in the first two or maybe three rounds.

EDIT: I know they do not have a set list for the entire draft, but I thought they would have more than 60 guys they target for sure before letting scouts get their hands on picks. That would be okay for the 6th and 7th rounds, but I would think there should be a more set decision about guys in the 3rd (assuming nobody from their top 60 drops), 4th and 5th rounds at least. I would think that there could be a large enough consensus about 125-150 guys at least.

Teams don't generally go for more than between 80 and 120. Take any public list, and rarely are all names gone prior to like 110 on your list. It is so rare for teams to have the same guys, that they don't run out. You can still get a guy you have in your top 100 in the 7th round. It isn't uncommon.

Although, I don't think he's saying we have a top 60, more that he'll get a more significant input at that point.

 

[93LEAFS]

right yeah. but the point stands, asleep at the wheel is ridiculous in that context

No point in engaging in this argument. Its ridiculous hindsight and overstating something. If Marner is a franchise winger that is consistently a 70 point player picked at 4th overall, there is no way you can legitimately argue he was a bad pick and that we were asleep at the wheel.

 

[Kiwi]

I have no idea what the organizational chart looks like at this point. What Speltz has been offered sounds exactly like the job John Lilley got.


I'm starting to think that fell through as it was just offered to the best of my knowledge but never accepted, or that person can't get out of an existing contract with another entity.

Where exactly does Speltz line up now?

Is it just a new job title to make him feel better? Is he now no2 in the amateur scouting structure? Is he just head of Western scouting still?

 

[93LEAFS]

Where exactly does Speltz line up now?

Is it just a new job title to make him feel better? Is he now no2 in the amateur scouting structure? Is he just head of Western scouting still?

Who knows. The leafs are just handing out titles at this point. Making any sense of the structure means little. My guess is the real power of the draft board will lie with Clark. What the rest means outside of title changes and possibly higher salary's is hard to tell.

 

[stickty111]

No point in engaging in this argument. Its ridiculous hindsight and overstating something. If Marner is a franchise winger that is consistently a 70 point player picked at 4th overall, there is no way you can legitimately argue he was a bad pick and that we were asleep at the wheel.

Yup it was a great pick by Hunter. People can argue it was an obvious pick, but no it wasnt. I am a supporter of Dubas, but I dont buy it was easy to choose Marner. Their were lots of questions, and Hunter deserves a lot of credit for picking him.

Marner was an amazing pick, thats final and nobody can argue otherwise.
Too bad some posters/mods didnt get their favorite overrated players(Barzal)

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Teams don't generally go for more than between 80 and 120. Take any public list, and rarely are all names gone prior to like 110 on your list. It is so rare for teams to have the same guys, that they don't run out. You can still get a guy you have in your top 100 in the 7th round. It isn't uncommon.

Although, I don't think he's saying we have a top 60, more that he'll get a more significant input at that point.

I guess. Although I'd love to hear the reasoning behind some of their decisions over other guys who were available.