What goes into scouting for the NHL draft? We talked to a Flyers scout to find out.
We talked with amateur scout Shane Fukushima about the 2025 draft and why this year was a little bit different process given the Flyers' multitude of picks.
In an age where nearly everything happens either in the public eye or in front of the cameras, sports draft scouting has remained one of those sacred things that is largely hidden behind a curtain.
The extreme measures taken to ensure secrecy make sense, as teams don’t want to show their hands to their rivals and jeopardize their plans on draft day.
But what goes into identifying the top prospects and formulating a draft board? How much of a factor is the combine and interview process?
While the Flyers weren’t going to reveal to us anything about specific players in the 2025 class, they were kind enough to let us talk with amateur scout Shane Fukushima recently at the NHL scouting combine to get a rare peek behind the curtain. Here’s what Fukushima said about the team’s draft process and how it goes about ranking and finalizing the names you will hear called on Friday and Saturday.
This interview has been edited for brevity.
Q: How is this year different with so many picks for the Flyers?
A: We typically travel a lot, but I would say this year, yes, because we’re trying to blanket different coverages that typically, you might not be in that pocket to take that player. So this year, to know the entirety of the first two rounds is very important for not only the picks, but knowing the value of trades, and you want to weaponize your management group and give them all the opportunity to make the proper decisions. And the only way to do that is knowing the board as well as you can, not just the areas that you think you’re going to be selecting. In other years, you might be sitting at 12 and 46, and we have an idea of maybe the players that might be in that area. With the amount [of picks] we have this year, you really just need to blanket a lot. So, yeah, there’s more travel.
Q: You’re also checking in on guys who are in the system already, and players you could be trading for too, right?
A: Yeah, you’re still checking up on the guys that you have selected because they’re playing against guys who you’re currently scouting, and you’re also watching guys who are already drafted by other teams. So you’re trying to cover as much as you can in all facets, but we have guys with the development group that you typically hand those guys off that we’ve already drafted. And if we can help in any way we can for trade purposes, as far as watching other prospects that might have been drafted for the management for deals, that’s a bonus. But the number one priority is to identify the talent for the upcoming draft and really focus in on those top two rounds.
Q: You scout college?
A: I do. So, for me, you’re doing college nationally because you have [Boston College’s James] Hagens and you have [Michigan State’s Shane] Vansaghi and [Wisconsin’s Logan] Hensler; you have an array of players that are in the first couple rounds, in that range that, yes, you’re looking at those guys. And then there are so many guys that are already drafted that naturally, you’re going to be writing the reports from where they were in their draft year and their progression for those trade purposes. But, yeah, for the U.S. coverage, college, you have USHL, you have high school hockey in Minnesota, high school hockey around the country, you have prep school out east. Then I cross over to Canada, the OHL, the WHL, the Q[MJHL], and then also Europe.
Q: So you’ve done all of the scouting. How does it all feed into this now?
A: Well, you start the first few months staying in your area, and there are a few of us who cross over throughout North America and even into Europe. So you’re starting in your area, you’re specializing in your area, you’re getting guys in certain spots, so the other guys who cross into your area know the priorities, and they’re doing the same for me. Then you’re starting to cross over once November hits into different parts of the world. You’re meeting for midterm meetings in January, where we’re getting our first rough draft, which carries into the final meeting — literally sets the schedule for the second half of the year — and then you’re having your final meeting, and then you’re here [at the scouting combine], and you’re kind of putting the finishing touches on it.
Q: We can’t walk behind the doors to the team’s side of the scouting combine. How does that work?
A: Throughout the bowl of the arena, each team has a suite. You have players that are basically assigned to different teams for 20 minutes each, and then you have personal time for 20 minutes with each prospect that you request. That goes on from Monday through Friday, from roughly 9 o’clock in the morning to 5 at night. ... I think the kids are probably pretty nervous as well as management is during the interview process. I think the Monday is a little more tense because the kids haven’t gone through it yet. But by the time you get to Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, they’re a little more versed, and they’re getting hit with the same common questions. I think they’re a little looser, and they’re probably already programmed a little bit; you can get maybe some more authenticity on the Monday than you can on the Friday a lot of times, just because they haven’t heard that yet.
Q: Why is that so important, because isn’t it really about what they do on the ice?
A: You’re trying to weave through, maybe character flaws if there are any. You’re studying how they became the player, how they arrived here, through their life. Did they go through hardships? How easy has their path been? It can maybe tell you a lot, explain a lot about how a player plays as well. It’s a character background check. Just, I will say, more than anything right now, to know the person. And really that’s set in your culture.
Q: We often hear that a center in junior doesn’t project to be a center in the NHL. How do you determine that?
A: I think being able to distribute pucks and keep the flow of the play going, and to be able to connect the other two on your line is a gift. Having the responsibility to play 200 feet, and having the work ethic and the skating to cover all that ground, understanding rink management and how to own the middle of the ice. Certain players can do that. Certain players can’t. Certain players are better off being on the wing, being able to take off and generate the offense, and maybe have less defensive zone responsibility. So those are some things that we’re looking at. The hockey IQ certainly needs to be there.
» READ MORE: Flyers mock draft 4.0: James Hagens or Jake O’Brien at No. 6? Will they grab a goalie in Round 2?
Q: How do you figure out whether a player has hockey IQ versus doesn’t have it?
A: It’s a fascinating question because hockey IQ is only as good as the evaluator. There’s IQ with the puck, right? Are they making the proper puck plays? And then there’s hockey IQ away from it. Their awareness to pick up their coverages and to see the transition happen, and how their body reacts to that as well. … So that’s why I say that. That hockey sense is only as good as the evaluator. What I think is good IQ is the evaluator, and how they see it, too. So, how would you recognize it if you don’t? It’s a loaded question.
Q: When you evaluate players now for the draft, are you factoring in the current coach like Rick Tocchet?
A: We’re trying to load up talent, and a combination of size as much as we can, and stockpile that. They can choose to use that however they think it fits going forward. Our job is just to identify that talent and maximize the draft capital as much as we possibly can so management has all the tools that they need to use it however they want. Generally, it’s not immediate needs, as much as you want it to be, so timelines are important.
Q: How do you evaluate guys like Matthew Schaefer and Roger McQueen, who had significant injuries and a smaller sample size to evaluate?
A: Another fair question. The good thing with Schaefer is he actually got to play in the CHL/USA prospects game. So you did get to see him in the best on best in North America. You have seen him in international play. So the history of the player does matter, It’s not just the last viewing. The history, the full body of work, does matter even though he didn’t get that second half in. I felt it was enough of a snapshot to know that he was a pretty special player. But McQueen was a little harder because he didn’t play as much, and then he returned and kind of went out. But he’s another body of work that, fortunately played enough with Team Canada, and has played with some players that we’re very familiar with. [Flyers scout] Mark Greig’s kid played there with him in Brandon. So we feel like we know the player, know the person, and now just doing a deep dive into the injury and what that looks like going forward.
Do you have someone who specifically evaluates goalies?
A: We do. We have Ryan Cyr who was hired last year, and we also have Brady, Robinson. So we do have a couple that do it. But the area guys would identify who the top guys are. So we kind of weed it out for them, put it on their desk, and they can really cut into it through video, and then visit those teams and watch them practice, interview [them], and whatnot so they can speak goalie talk and understand them. We kind of pass that one off as much as we can, and that’s what they’re paid to do. We feel they’re going to do a pretty good job.
Q: Does having three firsts and three seconds change your approach to the draft, and are you more apt to take a big swing on a high-upside, high-risk player?
A: I think it goes into a little bit of a chain reaction, because you don’t quite know exactly who you’re getting with that first one to your second one to your third one. So I think that’s a pretty fluid situation. You’re not really sure how that’s going to play out. You might, all of a sudden, have a guy rated much higher that you feel fell to 22 or 31 or in the second round. So that’s kind of an in-the-moment question, I think, more than anything.