Neutral Zone, amateur hockey’s leading independent scouting organization, is pleased to announce that it has hired Hannah MacDougall as its new Director of Women’s Hockey. In this role, MacDougall will oversee all operations of Neutral Zone’s Women’s Hockey division, including hiring and managing the scouting staff, leading amateur prospect ranking and evaluation initiatives across the United States, Canada, and Europe, and coordinating scouting coverage, among other responsibilities.
“I am excited to join the Neutral Zone team and help the organization continue to increase its coverage of women’s hockey,” said MacDougall. “Neutral Zone has built a strong foundation of reputable scouting in women’s hockey, and our goal moving forward is to be the go-to source for all women’s hockey news, analysis, rankings and independent scouting reports.”
MacDougall, 23, joins Neutral Zone after a successful, four-year playing career at the University of Massachusetts-Boston (NEHC) where she served as a two-time captain for the Beacons. She graduated magna cum laude from Umass Boston in May with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication. Before her time at Umass-Boston, MacDougall played for Bishop Kearney Selects 19U AAA, as well as the Boston Bandits, Boston Junior Shamrocks and Wellesley High School.
“We had a deep candidate pool ranging from NCAA coaches to AAA coaches and program directors, but Hannah clearly stood out through her strong leadership ability, attention to detail, character, high-level work ethic, hockey IQ and grit,” said Brendan Collins, GM & Director of Scouting with Neutral Zone. “She has all the attributes it takes to run an independent hockey scouting platform and take Neutral Zone Women’s to the next level.”
MacDougall, who will begin in the role immediately, will be charged with continuing to expand and improve Neutral Zone’s Women’s Hockey coverage and, ultimately, to help grow women’s hockey on a broader scale.
“Hannah really impressed me throughout the interview process as she’s a true student of the game, has a sharp eye for talent and is willing to put the work in that it requires to be accurate,” added Ian Moran, former NHL player and current Director of NHL Scouting with Neutral Zone. “She’s a natural leader and is incredibly passionate about the game of hockey. I think she’s a game changer for us.”
-30-
About Neutral Zone: Neutral Zone is a first-of-its-kind hockey scouting and news site that identifies, ranks, and profiles NCAA (Div. 1 & Div. 3) and Canadian University Sport (USport) prospects from across North America. The innovative site leverages top-quality, unbiased scouts to profile players and track their progress over the course of their amateur careers.
Our women’s team comprises over 25 experienced scouts who attend games, tournaments and showcase events to discover and evaluate the best players in their respective regions. Neutral Zone scouts come from diverse, high-level hockey backgrounds, including playing, coaching, or scouting at the NCAA, USport, or other elite-level amateur programs.