wloff
Registered User
- May 25, 2013
- 69
- 3
There was a pretty great article about Jarmo, how he assesses the drafts, and NHL drafting in general in today's Helsingin Sanomat (largest newspaper in Finland). I thought there were also some really interesting insights about Jarmo and how his scouting team works.
The article is in Finnish here: http://www.hs.fi/urheilu/a1435979970684
I suppose I shouldn't translate the whole article due to copyright stuff (is it allowed? no?) but I thought I'd pick some interesting snippets for you guys:
About how to be successful at the draft:
About how they assessed the draft:
About NHL being "luxury class human trafficking":
About his own job security:
There's also a story about how Kekäläinen wanted to get one of the tree D-men, Hanifin, Provorov or Werenski, with the number 8 pick. He had spread the word that he's willing to trade up a couple of spots, but all the offers he got were too expensive.
Eventually, his team apparently had calculated that there's a 77 percent chance one of the three will be available at 8, so he took the gamble and waited, and it paid off as we know.
Finally, there's a quick mention about success windows, when the team's prospects have developed enough to seriously contend for the cup:
The article is in Finnish here: http://www.hs.fi/urheilu/a1435979970684
I suppose I shouldn't translate the whole article due to copyright stuff (is it allowed? no?) but I thought I'd pick some interesting snippets for you guys:
About how to be successful at the draft:
"You just need to work harder [than others]. Before we draft a player, we've spoken with his parents, his coaches, his teammates, his girlfriend and his teachers. We've followed him on social media, we've gathered all the possible information about him. It takes time, it takes miles, it's hard, hard work."
About how they assessed the draft:
Last fall Columbus made a list of 400-500 best draft eligible players in the world. Then started the hard work: travelling, watching games, watching videos, interviews. Close to draft day there's around a hundred names left on the list, all ranked and sorted based on a specific math formula.
"In essence, this is exactly the same kind of asset value management practiced by stock brokers", says Kekäläinen, the Master of Economics.
Expected returns are calculated for players just like stocks. Scouts evaluate where these pimple-faced youngsters could be in three or five years: do they have the potential to be first line centers, or fourth line wingers?
"And then the kid's mother dies, or he gets one bad injury, and everything goes to ****", Kekäläinen sighs.
About NHL being "luxury class human trafficking":
Players need to go where they're told. The phone call may come at any time. In Columbus, Jarmo Kekäläinen is the one making the unpleasant phone calls.
"There is some swallowing of tears, when a player hears for example that he's been sent down to the farm. He knows that he might never get another chance to impress in the NHL."
[...]
"There's room for friendship in NHL as well. You just need to be honest and open and tell things as they are. Some people speak of teams as families, but I try to avoid the word 'family' - you don't usually sell family members, but with players, sometimes you must."
About his own job security:
Even though Columbus has gotten more success with Kekäläinen than ever before, he knows he might not afford a second failure [such as failing to reach the playoffs last season].
"Last season was a disappointment obviously, because we clearly had a stronger roster than the year before. The expectation is that we're a playoff team and maybe even a bit more - that we can actually get some success in the playoffs."
[...]
"If you know yourself you've done your job the best you possibly can, it's not so bad even if you do get fired."
There's also a story about how Kekäläinen wanted to get one of the tree D-men, Hanifin, Provorov or Werenski, with the number 8 pick. He had spread the word that he's willing to trade up a couple of spots, but all the offers he got were too expensive.
Eventually, his team apparently had calculated that there's a 77 percent chance one of the three will be available at 8, so he took the gamble and waited, and it paid off as we know.
Finally, there's a quick mention about success windows, when the team's prospects have developed enough to seriously contend for the cup:
"For us, that window may be one or two years away, or it might take a bit longer. Now all we need is patience and hard work."
