From left: Ian Moore, Kevin Hayes and Ryan Donato. (Getty Images)
The New England boys prep hockey holiday tournaments are always a time to catch up with hockey minds from across the landscape. Everyone has the local tournaments highlighted.
NHL scouts, college coaches, junior hockey executives and scouts — everyone is around. Occasionally, an NHL general manager will stroll through.
So there I was on the final day of the Flood-Marr tournament in the corner of Milton Academy’s athletic center, talking to an NHL scout, who will remain anonymous.
We were talking about the history of NHL Draft prospects in prep. With an increasing number of kids opting for junior hockey over finishing prep school, that meant they weren’t playing their draft year in prep. This, the scout said, hurt the quality — and quantity — of NHL Draft prospects to watch in prep. He wondered how many NHL Draft prospects in prep’s recent history actually went on to pan out.
That’s when the lightbulb went off. I could see it in the scout’s eyes.
“You should do a study,” the scout said, “on how many kids drafted out of prep school actually made it pro.”
I’d love to say I come up with all of my story ideas. But they’re often born out of conversations like this one.
So I was determined. I wanted a big sample size — but not too big since the landscape is ever-changing. I settled on 2010 as the first year to begin the study.
