If you've ever been in a short hockey tryout, you know that it's an intense experience. As the athlete, there's tremendous pressure to make a great first impression and prove your worth as a player. But what are the most important skill sets that a hockey scout will look for when evaluating players during these tryouts? Let's take a closer look:
Compete Level: A scouting staff looks for athletes who have the right attitude and intensity on the ice – players who are willing to play with energy and grit no matter what the circumstances. This should be consistent throughout the duration of the tryout.
Skill: Scouts will be looking at skating ability (speed and agility), passing technique, shooting accuracy, puck handling skills, and other technical elements of an individual’s game.
Effort: Keeping up with drills, giving full effort on each shift or drill repetition, hustling back on defense – all this needs to be demonstrated during the short time that scouts have to evaluate players.
Enthusiasm: Having enthusiasm and passion for hockey is essential; this isn’t just about being skilled with the puck but about having an overall love for the game which can come through in verbal communication or body language of athletes on ice during tryouts.
Team Player: Hockey is ultimately a team sport – scout staffs want to see young athletes who understand how to work together as part of a group in pursuit of common goals on the ice, from making good line changes properly to working together on defence or forechecking specifics as part of a unit
Communication: Verbal communication is just as important as physical skills; scouts need to see athletes actively communicating while they’re playing so they can determine if they have leadership qualities that can help their team both now and in future growth stages too!
