[SeattleBattleCat]

Quote: Originally Posted by sccavs64

Thanks for the tips! Seriously, that's super helpful. Yeah that makes sense regarding the 2018 draft - I checked out your dynasty page and saw you drafted Ciolfitto, that almost 70 OVR guy with elite POT in the 5th round and I was wondering how you found him. All I've done so far is sim from the beginning of a franchise up through the 2018 draft and looked at all the prospects, and I wasn't seeing anything close to a "steal" in the later rounds. Guess I won't see a Ciolfitto until 2019 or later. So just curious, what's your scouting strategy (if you have one)? Since you say that most of the time, the majority of the best prospects come from one specific area, to me it makes sense to scout every region for a week or two to find what that jackpot area is, and then scout as deeply as I can there. Is that what you do or not really?

Quote: Originally Posted by BigBadAss33

OK... I am strictly a Franchise player and have learned a few tricks that work for me anyway that i will pass along to you. Scouting: 1. Scout EVERY League at least 1 time at every position except Goalie. The smaller leagues have less players so you will see the more players in less scouting trips. 2. WHL CHL QMJHL and US DON'T always have the best players. 3. DO NOT get blinded by the potential rating. I use the star system - I will explain later about this. It pays off in the later rounds 4. You need to know your team and EVERY player on it(even the AHL) Here is how I scout to a T. I can’t say it enough you need to know your team needs and need to check stats every week. Who is scoring, who is not, who is getting scored on the most (+/-) and so on. This all comes into play when scouting. Pay attention to the stats. If you are getting dominated in the faceoff circle time to draft/trade for a Center who had great faceoff skill with high potential. Back to scouting help. Here is what I call the use of the STAR System Make sure YOU as the GM are sending you scout to the locations- DO NOT let the computer handle this. If assigned by system you will miss out on the better players late in the draft. After scouting every locations forwards at least once you get a picture of some players in that location. This is where if you have been watching how your team is playing week in and week out you have some idea a what you need to improve. I always scout the smaller regions 1st. Less players less times to scout all players. The more players in a location the longer you need to scout that region. Don’t concentrate on that. WHL, CHL, QMJHL and US will 95% of the time have the most players, but remember they don’t always have the best players. The STAR system is a sure-fire way to win in the late round drafts As you scout each regions players you reveal more and more of the players abilities. Whatever you do don’t believe a scout telling you a player is HIGH ELITE after 1 visit, most of the time he is not right. If you see a player that you like but have only seen 1, pin him to your board and scout that region until he is seen at least 4 times. That will give you the best chance at the right decision to either keep scouting to find out 100% or take the chance and draft him. I settle on my 5 pinned players around the trade deadline. Once there I scout ONLY those regions until the player is all green on the star system and the scout has HIGH confidence rating on each category. If he doesn’t pan out then you pin someone else and repeat. My best pick ever – Boston Bruins Franchise - Year 3 (2019-2020) – Center – Carl Gerbe – 6th Round – National League (14 total Forwards) High Elite (76 Overall) As a rookie. I am 2 years down the road and he is up to an 86 and my 2nd line Center. There is no perfect system and a lot of luck is involved but as long as you do the star system for the later rounds your farm team will be loaded with tons of potential NHL players of all caliber. Also remember some players may rate out low in the upper 50’s to low 60’s but have elite potential. Let them develop in the minors. Some pay off, some don’t and Most can be used as trade bait to get a already developed player. And last but not least there is NO chance at rebuilding a team with only draft picks, You must make trades and sign FREE agents to compete. I LOVE this game. The best NHL ever!!! Hope this helps a little

Quote: Originally Posted by BigBadAss33

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! I scout Goalies only if i need one. They are easier than forwards because there are less of them. So 2-3 scouts and you know if they are worth it I drafted 2 goalies in 6 years so far.. I stole an HIGH ELITE goalie in the 2nd Round (63) who i developed in the AHL for 3 years and has grown to 79 in 3 years. Hes my backup now in the NHL and when TUUKKA retires or i trade him hes the man!! BTW make sure you scout the REST OF WORLD at least once if there are players listed. I also find that LIIGA, SHL and NATIONAL league are the best to finding sleepers I dont know if thats a coincidence or not. Do me a favor and post a few of your late round GEMS when you find them.

Quote: Originally Posted by sccavs64

Ha! Well that's why I come here and ask you guys for help instead of going to reddit Thanks a ton for your help, I'm gonna get a 'chise going this weekend. I'll let ya know how it goes!

BigBadAss33 hit the nail on the head of how to scout and also the importance of knowing your teams (NHL & AHL) from game to game, week to week. I scout rather similarly (including goalies, I only ever scout if I really need one) however I think his system is a little better than what I do and he has given me some food for thought on how to tweak and improve, so thanks mate!