The Journey

After losing in the first round for three consecutive years, the New Jersey Devils and their fans can find some springtime solace in knowing they have the freshly minted Ontario Hockey League playoff MVP in their system.

Adam Henrique is not going to be a savior for the Devils, but he’s the kind of player who will fit well into their system and provide offence.

Many successful teams have what is called a “super scout.”

The Detroit Red Wings have Hakan Andersson, their Director of European Scouting and the New York Rangers of yesteryear won the 1940 Stanley Cup largely of the work of Al Ritchie, who found most of their talent in Western Canada.

Some companies just make quality merchandise. You can trust that you’re getting good value and something that will last. Maybe you own a toaster or a coffee maker that’s never let you down. So when you’re looking for blender to make some shakes or smoothies, you go with the brand that you know. You can apply the same logic to hockey teams. Some scouting departments do a good job identifying hockey players. Even better, some teams do this and do a good job developing players.

One team that does this is the Detroit Red Wings. By necessity, the Red Wings have had to do a good job spotting talent that others haven’t noticed and they’ve burnished that talent with a development strategy that preaches patience. Quick! Name me the last Red Wings prospect that was got rushed to the NHL. Now, you could argue that because they haven’t had a high first-round pick – or any first-round picks in some years – that they haven’t been tempted to rush any prospects to the NHL. That is true of junior-aged prospects, but not so of minor pros.

When you think of the ideal top pairing defenceman, you think of a guy that you can put out in any situation – whether you need a goal or to shutdown the other team. P.K. Subban (the P.K. stands for Pernell Karl, by the way) has the offensive skills that you can’t teach. Luckily, the defensive skills that he lacks are skills that you can learn – with a little effort and good coaching.

All players face challenges making it in the NHL. For big players, they sometimes struggle to keep up with the pace of the game. It can take a while to grow into their frame and their skill can lie largely untapped until their early 20s. For small players who catch the eyes of scouts, skill is rarely a problem. They usually ooze it. It has been this way for a few decades now. Smaller players need to prove that they can handle the rigours of the pro game. Many have done it before, and more are doing it now, but there is still a bias against the smaller player. It does take a special breed of player to make it as a small guy and work ethic and courage are usually the key attributes.

Never count a player out just because he was never drafted. The NHL draft lists are full of players who have never amounted to anything. Getting drafted is merely the beginning of a journey to the NHL. Some players who are drafted take it as a sign to coast, and conversely those who aren’t drafted often become determined to prove that NHL teams were wrong to pass on them.

This week, we’ll look at two such players – Roman Cervenka of the Czech Republic and Cory Conacher, a Canadian speedster playing in the NCAA.