Obviously the results still need to come, BUT this is a great day and new development for the Petes franchise. It really is quite significant on many levels including from a financial standpoint to be able to send Patrick O'Connor (Director of Player Personnel and Head European Scout) to Europe throughout the season and not only scout in person but build quality relationships with varying European programs. When Petes President Dave Lorentz was hired last year, he made it clear on day 1 that he was committed to winning and was going to keep trying to transform this organization in every way and this development is proof of that. As Petes fans, we are quite lucky to have this financial ability to send Petes staff to Europe to scout and I hope that it can pay off!
For those unable to read the Import Draft article:
Petes coaches travelled to Europe in April to scout players, meet agents and officials from top European clubs
www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com
‘With any player … you have to build relationships’: Peterborough Petes scout Europe for import draft
Moving forward, there should be no question whether players the Peterborough Petes select in the CHL Import Draft will report.
Last fall, the Petes promoted assistant coach Patrick O’Connor to the role of director of player personnel and as part of his duties the Durham, England native was put in charge of European scouting and the import draft. The Petes hold the ninth overall selection in this year’s import draft on July 3. With defenceman Martin Matejicek expected to return next season and Tommy Purdeller to turn pro in Europe, the club is expected to make one selection.
O’Connor was a former teammate of Petes head coach Rob Wilson in the British Hockey League and on Great Britain’s national team and joined the Petes when he moved his family to Peterborough in 2019. O’Connor and Wilson travelled to Europe for two weeks in April to scout players, as well as meet agents, officials from top European clubs, players and their families to establish relationships.
O’Connor’s mandate was to improve the Petes performance in the import draft with a greater European presence and insure they select players who will report. Last year’s selection, German defenceman Rio Kaiser was the latest pick who opted not to report.
“With any player and in any area of the game, you have to build relationships,” said O’Connor. “To build relationships you have to invest time. It’s very important you build these trusting and lasting relationships. That’s whether it’s one of these development organizations, European agents, the families of the players and the players themselves. They’re entrusting you to take their son halfway across the world, sometimes to a place they have never been, because they do believe in their hearts for their guys to get to the highest pro level of the NHL, without a doubt the most efficient route is still the OHL and the CHL.”
Wilson has many contacts overseas from his 20 years playing and coaching in Europe but O’Connor said his head coaching duties prevent him from getting to Europe or international tournaments during the season to scout. O’Connor’s schedule and role is much more flexible.
The early end to this season allowed both men to travel to Austria, Germany and Switzerland to meet club officials and a number of agents. A number of other agents and officials from other European nations flew in to meet O’Connor and Wilson, establishing connections across the continent, said O’Connor.
“We invested a lot of time in meeting a lot of people to show them who the Peterborough Petes are and what we do and where we are in our build and how we plan to win again and our process,” he said. “We discussed every element of the organization from off-ice, education, training, recovery, travel, practice, how we run our programs.”
Delivering that message in person by the people who will be in charge of the player’s development has a much greater impact, said O’Connor.
“That was definitely worth the time and effort. Credit to the board of directors for having the vision to invest because there is a cost involved to send us out there. It’s not cheap but in the short term and long term, I think it’s a very good investment because the trip was incredibly productive,” he said.
O’Connor said many of the European clubs acknowledge it can be to the benefit of their players to complete their development in Canada and if the player signs in the NHL, it helps them promote their program within their home countries as the stepping-stone to greater opportunities.
“They want their players to go to the highest possible level, which is the NHL. They see the OHL as the most direct route,” he said.
In the past, the Petes have relied heavily on video to scout European players, but O’Connor said nothing replaces seeing the player in person.
“I spend a lot of time studying the player, the bench, the body language, the reactions, how he integrates with teammates. These are things I study on the opposing teams all the time on a match night and these are things I really need to see to get a complete understanding of what the player is about,” said O’Connor.
They have a short list of players they are interested in and met with most of them and their families.
“We put ourselves in a strong position where the players we select will report,” said O’Connor.
“It’s a draft, so we can’t control what the other eight teams do before us, but we’ve done a lot of homework, research and invested a lot of time. We’d like to think we’re going to get the guys we are going for.”
They’ve also scouted some younger players as it’s vital to have a vision for future drafts, he said.
“We want to bring these guys in around the right age for what we plan to achieve that particular year,” said O’Connor.
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