Ep #27 w/ Ken Beckett

Okay, welcome to episode 27 of the M2 hockey development podcast me and

Jordan are here on Microsoft teams joined by Ken Beckett assistant GM of the

Stratoid Rockets in the GOHL. Ken, what's up now you guys are starting playoffs

here against St. Mary's you were telling us? That's right well you know thanks for

having me on the pod appreciate it guys and yeah we'll play off start this

weekend here we've got the St. Mary's Lincoln's in our first round matchup so

should be a great battle they're a really good team you know looking

forward but you know as I was saying you guys before we came on like listen we

we've been one of the hottest teams in the league I'm hoping we catch some

people by surprise here and make some noise. Yeah absolutely it'll be definitely

a good playoff when we've been watching a little bit of it as well obviously

Niels being an air keeps track with the junior B league a bit more in tune

than myself but you guys have been hot since that Christmas break if you guys

have been getting a lot of wins players have been really developing a

playing and it's it's been nice to see and you can see the trending and

development to peak at the right time and hopefully that can take you guys in a

little bit of a run moving forward to a long playoff run for the team yeah

absolutely yeah so before we get into I got a ton I got some players ask you

about some stories all this stuff you're now the assistant GM was

Stratoid Roy me and Ken met last year through the Brandford Titans Ken was the

assistant GM there how did you get to this spot in your life for here now

obviously your work and then you're the assistant GM and Stratoid Roy how did

you end up doing this and get into hockey off some management yeah great

question so you know actually it had worked in sports broadcasting for a lot of

years you covered the OHL and did a little bit NHL as well too so did that for

about 10 years probably from about the late 2000s like oh seven to about 2016

and then just decided you know I wanted to make a change but still wanted to be

involved in sports as went back to school you know got my degree in sports

management from Brock University you know the same program you know Kyle Dubas

went to him graduated from famously as you know anybody from Brock's

FEMA will tell you definitely the most famous alumni and so and then from

there you know that just led to other opportunities so you know with the Brock

men's hockey team doing analytics for them at a role at Staffleach which is

founded by Megan Trica and her brother John who used to be the GM the Arizona

Coyotes so did that for a year that led into the role of the area otters you

know serving as their video coach and doing some analytic work with them and

then yeah just then COVID happened and from there sort of got into scouting

worked with an agency for a couple years as a representative and then found

myself in the the G.O.H.L. with the Bradford Titans with you there Matt and as

assistant GM and then you know last year moved to London with my girlfriend and

wanted to find something a little bit closer to home it was a little bit of a

commute to Bradford so you know luckily Strathrey was looking for somebody to

come in and also just a bit of a bigger role you know in addition to the

assistant GM they're looking for a director of Canadian scouting so that's

something that I also took on with the Rockets as well and that you know I get

to manage a really great team of scouts here also so that just really peeled me

to get to also be the assistant GM as well as the director of Canadian scouting

and to help recruit guys you know from all over and it's really a big focus

we put in Strathrey is trying to find the right players no matter where they

are here in Canada or down in the U.S. where we've got a great team led by our

director of U.S. scouting Greg Kaminsky as well so yeah that's sort of how I've

ended up here in Strathrey so what is your roles and responsibilities look like

you kind of mentioned made it into scouts I know even I've kind of asked you

personally how it all works and I think I think it's really interesting to

learn about all these different positions and I think our listeners would too so

obviously you kind of work two hats what do those both actually look like on a day

to day or week to week basis yeah so I think as the director of scouting you know

and and managing your scouts you know first and foremost this is a development

leak for everybody right for for players and coaches and managers and our scouts

so obviously given my background you know working with our team of scouts to

help them you know just sort of identify the right players to know what they

look know what to look for when they're out at the ring you know help them

compile their scouting reports you know what to write how it should look you

know that sort of thing as well and just sort of you know help develop the scouts

into the best possible talent evaluators that they can be as well too and I'm

really lucky we've got a great team here in Strathrey and I know Greg has a

great team of American scouts as well who we all you know are just blown away

by the work that they all put in so you know I think first and foremost that

that's my biggest role and then from there you're you're leaning on your scouts

and then I'm also at the ranks trying to identify talent as well and just

trying to you know find that the best players we can to come play with the

Strathrey Rockets you know whether that's going to develop in scates like M2

hosts or you know tournaments or individual games you know you're always at

the rank you're always evaluating talent you're always looking for the right

people you're always talking to coaches so that that's a huge part of this

role for sure so you talk about like the different stepping stones to get

pretty much identifying talent bringing talent on and trying to talk

communicate with coaches well you have scouts go to coaches and talk and say hey

we want to bring this player on AP what's going on with all this etc etc or you

identify the player you're reaching out as a GM to the coaches the

organization saying hey this player has been identified we'd love to have him

either come to a state or be on our radar moving forward for next year or after

the draft see where he let and ends up we feel like he's capable playing junior B

how how's that process work in terms of communication either to the player to

the coach or through the funnel of your scouting staff to yourself yeah that's

a good question Jordan it's a mix of both you know like I'm definitely talking to

the coaches our scouts are encouraged to talk to the coaches as well you know

it's great for us to be in the ranking and to see them play you know and to see

sort of what stands out to us or who stands out to us but at the end of the day

that the coaches are around the guys way more than we we will be all right so so

we lean on you know that the coaches big time and then this is something

getting back to you know as with the agency and scouting before that you know

it's really important for us to as the evaluators to connect with your coaches and to you know

find out in addition to how well are they playing on the ice what are they like in the room

how are they in practice you know do they work hard in practice are they good teammate

you know what when you see them in in the room like how are they a leader right obviously if

they have a letter on their jersey that helps but you know are they a leader in the room you know

do they do just the extra things and you know do they train well do they have a big training

program like that stuff that you know you're not going to be able to see if I just go into a game

or a tournament and watching them so so you know we're we're big on and I'm certainly big on you

know talking to the coaches and trying to get some more background information as much as you can

you know it's every little piece of information helps and so yeah both myself and in my scouts

rely heavily on on talking to the coaches and getting their opinions on on their players that we see as well

yeah follow the question on that so you talked about how you're overseeing the Canadian

side of the scouting for Strathroid you have an American scout team as well

obviously we just talked before the podcast started about Jake and how he's from Thunderbaid

it's Thunderbaid played in Manitoba if you're identifying a player from say a different province or

of north like way up north in Noha and everything in that region how how different does it become

communicating with them to try to get those players to come down and play in the G O H L comparison

to a local player say that plays in Elgin or London more locally towards Strathroid kind of is

yeah for sure it's definitely a bit of a sell job right like they've never been to Strathroid

you know more likely yeah right it says it's a small town and they maybe never heard of our team

but you know the one thing as well as this year with our league becoming the official OHL

development league I think that there's no question now that this is if you want to play in the OHL

this is the best league to be in you know and now with the rules with you know being able to go to

the US you know and the doors are open and being in the OHL and having that possibility to go down

to school in the US I think there's so many more routes that you can go but if you wanted to go to

the OHL like this is the league to be in so you know just sort of you're talking to players their

families their agents you know about that and you know and what the opportunities would be if

if they were to come to Strathroid and you know like obviously for us this year you know we've had

a 12 different OHL drafted players in our lineup this year right so you know obviously like we

are a team that you know has OHL scouts come out and watch OHL GM's AGM's you know that there's

eyeballs on our league there's eyeballs on our team and if you want to be discovered and if you

want to be in the OHL this is the place to be you know and then just getting into sort of what makes

Strathroid special you know I think you know we've one of the best rooms in the entire league

obviously I'm a little bit biased but you know maybe it's setting up a visit maybe it's you know

setting up a virtual call with our coaches right just doing whatever you can to recruit I think

the biggest thing is you're recruiting them just as much as they're looking for a place to play

like you want to make sure this is the right fit for them as well too so really trying to sell them

on not only the league but also the Strathroid rocket experience as well you mentioned you mentioned

some of the eyes on and it was funny we were actually going through with Burns E who was the

head athletic therapist and Brandford about how all these like NHL GM's call him or not a

GM NHL GM's he did say and scouts and everything to ask about the players what is your obviously

said there's and obviously I'm in the league too there's tons of eyeballs from the OHL I don't

really get calls from the OHL as an assistant coach but I'm sure you do as an assistant GM

so first thing what does that communication look like whether they're drafted or undrafted

into I mean something that's really important what are some of the things they're asking you about

on a week-to-week month-a-month basis about their players yeah so you know obviously if you have

high drafted OHL players you know you've got a whether it's directors of scouting or directors

of gold tending you know they're checking in you know they're oftentimes little they'll come

in and you know want to meet with the players after the game or you know they'll talk to you

and the rank but as far as yeah you know phone calls that you get right that they want to know

like everybody has access to video but they they want to know you know same thing that

that I said when when we talk to coaches how are they doing in practice you know are they

working hard what does their habits like you know how are they how do you see them develop right

because when you're a scout you'll see you know a couple games here and there but we're with

them all year round right we see them from pre-game I started pre-season to game 50 in the playoffs

so we really get a better picture than development so you know the big questions that you get are

just you know how are they developing this year and what's sort of the biggest opportunity that

you see what's been the biggest improvement you know as well too OHL teams will give you or suggest

different areas that they would like to see their players players develop in and and so you know

working with our coaching staff to make sure that we're meeting those goals as well to to make

sure that this is still an attractive place to be that you know the OHL teams want to send

their players to so always been in constant communication to make sure that the goals of the OHL

teams are met as well for for the development of their drafted players yeah

I thought you were going to jump in regardless that you're going to jump and so let's jump

back into the scouting thing we actually I'm kind of tired of asking this question because we

always ask it but I have to aside from obviously we've expressed the importance of the importance of

being a good kid and working hard and having good habits and all that stuff what are some of

things that you specifically and your opinion whether your opinion what are you looking for when

you go to watch game when you were running to me and Jordan at the Toronto Titans early bird

when you're at the silver stick when you're at the Marley's tournament if you're watching a minor

hockey game what are some big things that you like to see yeah it's a great question right and

I would say every scout looks for something different yeah you're not going to get you're not

going to get the same answer for for me scout you know and I think also it depends on the

organizational need at the time what your coaches like in players as well you know that that's

a big thing so you know I think at our level and you know when you're in the OHL is scouting

as well too when you're scouting kids you know you're you're they haven't you know they're not

18 yet they're still growing they're still developing so I think that one of the biggest things

in addition to yeah are they good guide they work hard is how do they project at the next level

right you know so when I'm at yeah that the Titans early bird with you Matt you know in September

there and I'm watching a 14 or 15 year old who's still a year or two out from even playing in

our league I'm trying to look at them and go how does their skill set today translate in a year

to where some of the opportunity is that they could work on what are some of the skill sets that

you know I think are good enough right now that maybe they they could be on a radar you know

and I think also what you're looking for as well as is to try and find something that they do

special like maybe two or three things that is that sets them apart from the other players on the

ice right like that you I was just having this this conversation with an agent last week

you know I think a lot of scouts you know get so sidetracked by size at this age you know at

the U 16 level I mean I know there's certainly OHL teams that that won't draft a defense

from under six foot which it's crazy to me but you know I think yeah you're you're looking for

just like I would say two or three things the dot player does really well better than you know

most other players on the team and then you maybe one area or two that like you're not quite

there yet they can develop and as well so you know I know for myself like I put a not to get you

know to do away all my secrets but you know I put a big focus on like skating for for myself right

like if they're having a hard time keeping pace at at this level I use 16 are they going to be

able to keep pace in the GUHL you know are they going to you know are they going to fall behind

are they going to be too slow you know are they going to get exposed you know that's for example

one thing that I really look at and then just from there again you know what something special

to do is that they're shot is that they're hockey sense is is that they're IQ is that they're you

know if it's a goalie right like how do they cover the net what's their lateral movement like

you know just you're looking for yet a couple things that they just do exceptionally well

that that you can sort of you know right down the sky and report look for the next few times

that they you see them play and then yeah one or two things that maybe are areas for development

and just sort of track those you know throughout the course of the year yeah it's good to know

because a lot of I mean going to the conversation of scouting and what scouts are looking for like

how much of that is something that still can be developed so for example you said you're really

looking towards skating like I do know like you can't teach size and that's one one thing like

if the kid's not going to grow he's not going to grow if he's going to grow he's going to grow

if he's already big like how much is that outweigh some of the other skill sets that they have so

for example for players big and can't really move his feet too well can't keep pace

that is something that could still be almost like taught and trained through is that something

that you kind of look towards and say okay he's a big body we can't teach the size but we can

definitely put him in power state we can do more work for development that way what kind of player

does he become after that does that look at do you look at that opportunity or is it more so

you're looking at players how they might grow they might not grow they're great skater they're

looking at that they're looking at their skill set they have an aggressive forecheck they

throw the body well they never give up in a game stuff like that so I guess to bring it all

together how often are you looking towards skill development that can still be developed in a

player in comparison to what that player skills already are and how they can improve project

comparison yeah in comparison yeah project exactly what's the projected skill set that they can

acquire or improve on regardless of size per se yeah that's exactly you're you're always trying

to project right and so you know if I'm watching you 16 or you 18 or when I was with the agency

you're you're looking even younger at you 15 or you 14 you're you're just trying to project like

what is this skill set project to at the next level right and you know and is there room for

development and is it something that it's a small thing that could be worked on right it's like

yeah maybe the shot isn't great but yeah that can be worked on that can be taught right like

you said maybe the stride isn't amazing but again you put him in power skating that can work

can be improved upon so like I said in my last answer you're also looking for you know

a couple of things that they do really well right like you're sort of on the mountains yeah you

what you want to find like as much as you can really well rounded players right like you're not

different for maybe one specific skill set but you want to find somebody who who checks a few boxes

and listen and no players at the age that we're starting out are perfect hockey players

if they are other granted exceptional status in the oh and you know a blind scout can tell you

that yeah they're going to go first overall like you you don't need a scout to tell you that right

so you know we're all looking at imperfect players um but you're looking for the the guys who

check a few boxes and you go yeah you know I I can work with that um you know they've got some

positive areas of their game that I think would translate pretty well uh and you know project

pretty well the next level yeah no it's a good answer and that's essentially the question I was

asking it's the projection of what the the player can kind of lead into not necessarily where they're

currently at right now um furthermore so you scouting in the u16 level obviously we saw you

at the rink at the u16s um are you looking at u18 scouting and seeing okay can we bring up a player

right now mid-season to sign with us obviously there's a lot of interchange between the gohl

sending players bring called up to the ohl players coming down vice versa sending players down

to u18 bringing back up is there a lot of scouting still going on with the u18s that um you can kind

of pull up whenever you want and and almost sign them immediately for sure yeah there's a huge

focus on on u18s for a for our team certainly um you know I can't speak for other teams in our league

but I think for all teams u18 the main league to scale yeah like because that's where you're pulling

ap's from right throughout the year yeah you have a very very specific you know it's uh limited

number of specialty ap cards so um you know and and for those as well um you know those are you

pretty much locked up for the top guys before the year even starts so the rest of your ap's yeah

you're pulling from u18 or you're you're pulling from different leagues so yeah u18 has been a huge

focus all year long uh you for myself and and my team scouts as well um not only for for just

ap spots throughout the year but also then like who are we looking at inviting to our camp in

the summertime or our prospect camps uh as well so yeah u18 uh like like matt said uh as a huge

focus for for for teams in our league for sure yeah especially like this time of year i know me and

not a coach and staff gm scouts all that fun stuff like we're really starting to get out now like

you team tabs yeah you get out here and there but this time of year this last month and as it goes

forward like playoff time down the stretch you're kind of seeing how close they are to next year

because it's obviously as close you're gonna get now is the kind of crunch time on u18 i've found

at least from the last couple of years um yeah and also too just sorry matt uh and also

you know um with scouting you know in and u18s and u16 the playoffs and you know OHL Cup and

internaments such a great time to scout as well too because you're really seeing them getting

you know battle tested and seeing them under pressure and under really big time situations

right so you know when the lights are shining the brightest how do these guys play and perform

all right so so to to what matt just said like now's a great time for for teams across the league

get to really evaluate talent and and see who are the guys who are stepping up at the big moments

um you know because it's it's it's nice to scout guys in september and october and then see them

you know do well in a game that kind of means nothing or it's a bit of a blowout in the fall

but you know how are these guys doing in the in a in a big tournament or in a big playoff game like

that stuff really matters uh to scouts and to gm's yeah and how they progressed over the season

how they've developed like if you saw them maybe those couple notes that you said that they could

work on at the start of the season maybe one or two of them gets checked off by the end of the season

because that's an area of development they need to hit and they start plus even higher in in terms

of your scouting ranking and things like that and or if they stayed the same the entire year it's like

well what's the development process look like as he reached his ceiling etc so that's a great great

answer i didn't know u18 was as heavily scouted i guess i probably could have figured that out but

as heavily scouted at this at this point in time like it just never crossed my mind because i

coached the u16 level i always think the u16 levels where all the scouts are but yes the u18

level has a lot more i guess junior scouts because they can pull those players up and bite them to

camps and stuff and yeah you're only bringing in two sixteen year olds every year versus

we have like ten seventeen adults on our team right now that all played u18 last year

yeah and i think that's a great message too and it ties into something that you know

when i was working in the agency world it is i get a great message then you can tie in

is that you know if you have a if you're a parent or if you're a player who's in their draft year

it's their u16 oj draft year if you get drafted by an oj team this year that's wonderful

you know congratulations like i know i know you put in a lot of hard work years and years of it

but also if you didn't get drafted or if you got drafted late that's not the end of the story

for you you know go to u18 go dominate there you know there's gonna be lots of opportunities for

you whether it's an early whether it's in you know the oj you know wherever or you know the oj

u18 draft right like teams are still looking at you scouts are still watching you know coaches

are still watching like you still have every opportunity to go and dominate and to go earn a spot

somewhere so you know what like the u16 oj draft is wonderful but it's not that the all-endal

and if you get drafted great use the opportunity to adventure career but if you don't get drafted

use that to inspire yourself to exceed next year at u18 and find a different opportunity

because people are always watching and and like we just spoke about u18 is so highly

uh regarded as as important for you know scouts and gm's and our league and certainly in the

oj and you know north as well too it's a big time pool to recruit from yeah and that that's

big thing like someone's this is crunch time but someone's always watching you never you'd never know

and i didn't even understand as a player than now that i'm coaching it's like you're talking to

this guy in your organization like yeah my daughter was playing before she's like eight or

something and then so i was at the ring so i watched the next game and i really like this guy

i want to bring him in next year it's like like just random stuff like that like someone's always

there like we've had Trevor Hoscanon and Colberg and you know all you kind of browsed the stand

sometimes and then like there'd be an NHL team and i was like there's a NHL scope here today like

how do i not even like you have no idea who's watching right like you just you never know maybe

they're not even wearing their team jacket maybe they're sitting up in the stands in the warm room

or something you never know and the last question it's a two-parter is uh the nlbt last question

of the podcast i remembered today jordan was um so first of all two-part how do you guys structure

you know your rookie camp in a main camp in the season what's the Strathroid rocket structure

and the last one is we're so happy we have so many 2010s 2009 2011s 2012s coming into this age

group and i'm getting a ton of questions how it all works well would be your advice to some 2010s

trying to figure out what to do in regards to i'm sure they'd love to get on a junior b team

for sure get an ap spot somewhere what would be some of some advice to how to navigate all these

different rookie camps and id camps and skates and stuff yeah great questions so how we're setting

it up with us in Strathroid so we've got our spring id camp coming up at the end of april that

will be holding over the course of a weekend and so you know certainly we're inviting players

that you know myself and our scutting team have looked at ultra out the year um you know and

you know certainly communicating with you guys at m2 and you know agents as well uh to try to find

the right players to to fill holes and and to look at it possibly bring on next year and then

uh you know from there we'll also have an american camp as well um oh yeah the yeah the the

latest key video on that one but we're we're in the planet stages for that um and and then from

there we'll have our our full on uh combine um you know in may uh where you know that's sort of

our our spring camp there and the top guys we will you know invite to our summer skates and

and then make our decisions from there um you know obviously the the play does all the talking for

them and if somebody blows us away and in one of our spring id camps and and then also blows us

away in a combine you know maybe they they get a spot right then and there or maybe it's hey

come much of the skates let's see what you can do and let's evaluate throughout the course of

the summer so um that's how we're structuring it um so so um yeah so so the big one come up is

yeah end of April or our spring id camp for your 2010s you know what i would say is is when you're

sort of thinking about you know the the next level as i mentioned here earlier on we're trying to

project so when you're working with your skill development coaches like you guys or you know

you're at your hockey school or whatever you're power skating think about what you should be doing

to succeed at the next level it's really great that you're the guy at you 16 or you're the guy at

you 18 but you should want more than that you should want to move on to a higher level and and so

think about what do i need to do to be able to succeed and to excel at that next level um so you know

like i was a big fan of what i was with the agency having my guys sort of watch in the next level

like go watch uh some OHL games see what you know the best players are doing and then let's focus

your skill development on that right and and so that's that's my biggest piece of advice because

i mean listen every you know kid at u16 u18 can get bigger they can all get stronger they can all

improve their skating right like that's just that's the bare basics um but like also think about

what else you can be doing to stand out at the next level so you know um just on a personal side

focus on that uh as far as you know finding the the right team and and the right opportunities

you know talk to your coaches you know if you have a representative talk to them you know reach out

to reach out to us you know like gm's and a gm's we get emails and calls you know almost every day

right like if you have a question you can reach out you know you can have your agent reach out

talk to your coaches that they know who are who are looking for spots they're talking to people

as well um do your research right like make sure that you find the right opportunity um the

the right team the right set of coaches um because as much as we want to have the right players

you want to make sure that you're with the right team because your development is just as important

to you uh as it is to to the team so um you want to make sure that you're in the right spot to

succeed uh and so you know do your homework do your research talk to people ask lots of questions um

you know one of the biggest things for us uh and i'll just end on this is you know um we're big on

bringing players in if you know they want to come take a look at our practice they want to maybe

they you know they come skate maybe they come have a look at our room right you don't get to know

us as a staff as well too right just make sure it's in the right fit for them um really anything

that that we can do to make sure the players feel comfortable and and and want to make sure they're

in the right spot uh it's something that's important for us so make sure that if you're a player or

parent make sure that you're asking those right questions as well yeah one last follow-up sorry

because i've kind of got my brain going a little bit my apologies um just with the identification

camp and and all that stuff going on typically in the past few years um the OHL drafts happen before

many of the junior identification caps now the OHL drafts in June kind of after all those

identification camps so how does that outweigh or what's the weight of an OHL draft pick come into

camping to persons anybody else like they are you guys looking okay this player is drafted maybe

we have a partnership i know you have a couple guys from London on the team maybe we have a

partnership with London where they send a few players do they want us to have more eyes on this

player at the identification camp give them a few more skates so they can watch them at your camp

in comparison etc or is it just you have players come to your camp if they they see your fit and

like they catch your eye then you continue inviting them back regardless whether they've been drafted

or not yeah no i i i think that's it right like we're gonna have players at our camps um we

uh we can't control who gets drafted and who doesn't um you know uh we're we're trying to find

the right players for for our lineup uh that to fit what our coaches are looking for um that fit

our style of play um you know if you get drafted by OHL teams certainly when you have partnerships

with some teams they will want to send their their draft picks to you or you know they'll have

need to find spots for them um but we we can't control that right and we know that happens right

and like you said with the OHL draft happening when it happens so um no our our biggest thing is

making sure that we find the right players regardless of of the time and regardless of if they're

drafted or not um you know like it's yeah we we've got lots of opportunities to evaluate talent

it's a long summer you know we're looking from April through to you know July or August you know

when we have to sort of finalize the roster so it's a it's a long time to evaluate talent but

like I said Jordan if somebody comes in and blows their socks off in the combine uh

sorry in our ID camp in April and in our combine in May um you know performance speaks for

itself and if they're playing well and they earn a spot then it doesn't matter

does if if they're drafted or not yeah awesome so thanks so much for coming again and

thanks for jumping on and sharing with all our players and parents I'm sure everyone will

learn some from this podcast and if anyone was wondering Ken's actually from air so he's

he'll always be a centennial span at heart it's always a pleasure to come see the ring yeah a lot

I mean that ring wasn't around when I was a kid the old barn downtown uh was where we played

and we went to go see the centennials back in the day um so I mean that that the new rink and air

there is a beauty I love going to it uh it's such a pleasure to be there and it's yeah it's always

a little you know yeah it's nice it's it's a homecoming and uh the stalls will be somebody yeah

probably someday a little let me drop the puck and uh you know it's a former air resident we'll see

shout out to Tito's Pete so we need a sponsorship too exactly yeah thanks so much Katie

yeah much for you guys yeah thank you