Scouts' Honours

I'll be very honest when I say that a lot of good general managers in hockey likely have incredible scouts who know more about the game than they do. The scouts rarely receive recognition when a diamond is found in the NHL Entry Draft in the later rounds, but those organizations often sing praises about the efforts of the scouting staff as a whole. In saying that, I had no idea that there was a Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation in Okotoks, Alberta that will be honouring a pile of men whose scouting work changed teams and found superstars in the WHA and NHL. That ceremony happens Tuesday night, and some of the names who are being inducted at the Inaugural Wall of Honour ceremony are well-known throughout the hockey world!

I'll give credit to T. Kent Morgan who writes a Memories of Sport column every second week in the Free Press Community Review for bringing attention to this event because, as stated above, I had no idea it was happening nor did I even know the Foundation was a thing. Morgan's article deals specifically with the Manitobans and players with Manitoba connections being inducted into the Wall of Honour at the WCPHSF, but there are some other names that should be mentioned as well.

A committee featuring veteran scouts Scott Bradley, Ron Delorme, Erin Ginnell, Ross Mahoney, Garth Malarchuk, and Mike Penny, and longtime hockey observers Gregg Drinnan and Shane Malloy decided that the inaugural Wall of Honour inductions would be capped at 45 individuals despite there likely being a pile more scouts that could be included. The head of the committee, Glen Dirk, unfortunately passed away on April 17 from complications with cancer, but he was one of the 45 individuals inducted in the Class of 2024 who will be honoured on Tuesday night.

Of the five men inducted in the Pioneer section of the Wall of Honour, perhaps the biggest name is Cecil "Tiny" Thompson. The ten-year NHL veteran spent eight seasons with Boston and two with Detroit, and he would win four Vezina Trophies and a Stanley Cup in his rookie season with the Bruins. He was also the first NHL goaltender to be credited with an assist in a game, but he gets his name into the WCPHSF thanks to his 32-year career as chief western scout for the Chicago Black Hawks from 1945-77.

In the Early Era section, names like former Winnipeg Jets forward Bill Lesuk who worked with the Jets, Coyotes, Blackhawks, and Bruins; former New York Islanders head coach Earl Ingarfeld Sr. who worked as a scout with the New York Islanders; former Montreal Canadiens scout Del Wilson who spent 47 years with the Canadiens and saw 18 Stanley Cups won in that time; and, former Philadelphia Flyers forward Gerry Melnyk who spent 29 years as a scout with the Flyers and saw two Stanley Cups won.

The men inducted into the Modern Era section of the Wall of Honour should be fairly recognizable, and they include TSN analyst Craig Button, Vegas Golden Knights assistant GM Vaughn Karpan, Florida Panthers senior scouting advisor Les Jackson, and longtime Hockey Canada and NHL scout Barry Trapp. A lot of the men in this section are still working for NHL teams, but it's incredible to see how long they've been in the game doing what they do best as scouts and talent evaluators. Clearly, there will be more men (and hopefully some women!) added to this section in the coming years!

It goes without saying that the men inducted into the WCPHSF's Wall of Honour on Tuesday are some of the best scouts the game has seen who call western Canada home. That's not to take anything away from the guys working out east, down south, or over in Europe who are doing incredible jobs in finding talent in those regions. The fact that there is a Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation just goes to prove that these men deserve a tip of the cap for the work they do, and I'm glad they're getting the recognition of their tireless work in two night's time.

If you want to see the full list of the men being inducted, you can find the Wall of Honour list here with the quick write-ups on each of the men. If you're in or near Okotoks, head down to the Okotoks Centennial Arena where the Wall of Honour is located and check out the display they have. As the Foundation works to honour more scouts in the sport, that Wall of Honour will only see more talented people added to the inaugural class being inducted on Tuesday evening!

Congratulations to the 45 men on this prestigious honour!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!