On any given weekend during hockey season, over 70 Neutral Zone scouts could be in arenas across Canada, the United States (and soon Europe). NHL, CHL, NCAA, and agents often tell us, “I see someone in an NZ jacket everywhere I go.” With that comes a lot of interactions with hockey professionals, players, and parents who are often looking for information.
“We had to make it a policy at NZ that our scouts do not advise players and parents,” said US Director of Scouting Brian Murphy. “It wasn’t to be coy or avoid liability, it was simply that we as a company believe you should only talk on things you are a subject matter expert on. Our NHL Scouting Director played a long career in the NHL, our Ontario director responsible for OHL and OHL Draft played in the OHL and won a Memorial Cup, and I scout US markets and have been both a player and longtime head coach in NCAA.”
A few examples of this was over the summer we had a goalie parent asking about the difference between playing high school level hockey and starting versus being a backup at the junior level with the goal of playing NCAA hockey. We told them to talk to an NCAA goalie coach to get the most accurate information and that we didn’t feel comfortable offering advice. We had a father of an undrafted OHL prospect trying to figure out if he should play U18 or in the GOJHL, and we directed him to speak with an OHL GM who could give them their insights. Earlier this spring, a parent called us asking us which junior camps were legit and which were not, as they had NINE camp invites. We instructed them to talk to either a college coach or a junior hockey GM to get better insight into the camp situation, as we don’t cover junior hockey camps.
The problem for the parents is that they don’t have access to call the NCAA goalie coach, the OHL GM, or the Junior Hockey GM. That was until a new website emerged. PlayerIntro was designed by Lucas Bahn and Josh Corrow, former NCAA hockey players. Their service connects players and parents with industry experts, from GMs at the junior level to NHL Scouts to Prep School coaches to skills coaches, etc. Families can now go directly to the source for guidance and information on their questions and concerns for a reasonable rate. The website says most industry experts charge between $30-$100 for a half-hour Zoom session. This is a bargain compared to the thousands of dollars spent on travel costs, hockey tournaments, camps, skills coaches, agents/advisors, and off-ice programs.
“I think Player Intro is an excellent new addition to the hockey community,” said Murphy. They are in it for the right reasons. They are providing a much-needed service to players and their families and are not gouging them for it.”
Amateur prospects today have many people in their ears telling them what to do from their coaches, off-ice instructors, skills coaches, advisors, and parents. While they have the best of intentions, the simple truth is that most of them are not qualified to answer the questions families have correctly. That is why the opportunity to go straight to the source and not get second-hand accounts or through intermediaries is so powerful.
Steve Wilk, who founded Neutral Zone in 2015 as a hockey parent after his son had gotten through, feels the same way.
“We built NZ to give both players and hockey professionals an unbiased, independent assessment of the prospect pool to make more informed decisions,” said Wilk. “We are driven to identify, analyze, and rank prospects across the world to give context for how a 16-year-old in British Columbia playing junior hockey relates to a player in Minnesota playing High School hockey versus a player in Montreal playing Midget AAA. Player Intro is a different business, but it has the same goal of helping players and families make more informed decisions by giving direct access to the key experts in the hockey community. I think it’s a great idea and support their efforts.”
To book a call with a subject matter expert or to learn more about Player Intros offerings, you can go to their website www.playerintro.com