With the QMJHL CSR’s final comprehensive draft list published today, draft eligible players from across Quebec and Atlantic Canada finally know where they stand. Nevertheless, today was probably a difficult day for many players and families.
Obviously, some players are on the that list and some aren’t. Some players have risen, while others may have fallen on the final list.
What does all this mean? What does that process look like? How do scouts formulate these lists?
Unfortunately, there are more questions than answers sometimes when it comes to the scouting and ranking process. Obviously, the entire “draft year” process is incredibly stressful on players and their families with many unknowns. Every player and family handles it differently. Now that the final list is out agents and advisors will no doubt be discussing options with their clients.
Draft rankings may appear to be solidified, but they are extremely fluid considering the evaluation, interview and vetting process that QMJHL teams go through.
It’s hard to put trust in the process when the process doesn’t make sense or is confusing for players and their families.
It’s imperative that players and their families understand that this list might in fact be the CSR’s final list, but that doesn’t mean they still can’t get drafted. QMJHL teams can still add players to the list in hopes of drafting them.
Some organizations play that game very well and rightfully so. If they are the only team that show interest in a player and that player isn’t on the CSR’s radar or any other teams radar those organizations and their scouting departments will keep it very quiet and add the player at a later date or just before the deadline to add players set out by the league.
There’s no question the CSR worked extremely hard putting their final list together and ranking players in the first five rounds. The CSR does good work, but there’s no exact science to process if scouting or ranking 15 year old players. Mistakes are made and some players get overlooked.
It’s incredibly difficult to project a “players” intangibles or their will to improve. It’s incredibly difficult to project their growth and development when it comes to the physical maturation of their body.
It’s important to remember that scouts are evaluating 15 year old kids. There’s a ton of variables that can change extremely fast when looking at the overall growth maturation process of any young player.
The CSR’s list is important, because you have to be on the final list in order to get drafted. Nevertheless, come draft day, it’s the teams list that matter most.
Today was a tough and challenging day for many players and their families.
For some players it was extremely gratifying to see their name on that list, for others the omission was probably devastating.
Being left off a list doesn’t mean the journey in the game is over. Every player’s path in the game is unique.
I’ve written a lot about the scouting process over the years in hopes of being transparent and providing some insight for young draft eligible players and their families.
You see every scout and organization sees it differently.
They evaluate and value different aspects of a player’s repertoire. When your ranking a colossal amount of players some get overlooked, potentially undervalued and flat out missed.
There’s so much focus on one or two particular lists or scouting rankings that it clouds some people’s judgement or perspective.
There’s literally hundreds or seemingly thousands of undrafted stories across the sporting world, but many young players remain fixated on being drafted instead of continuing to develop and work on their weaknesses every day.
To players on the list, congratulations, rankings are rankings, it doesn’t really matter where you are selected, what matters most is what you do after the draft that matters most!
To the players that aren’t on the list.
List or no list, the journey is far from over. Now is the time to prove people wrong, now is the time to work even harder to prove the people that support and believe in you right.
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