But once all the travel is done for the year and all the miles and long hours out on the road have been logged, it's time to come together as a group and devise a gameplan for accomplishing your draft goals. For instance, some teams won't even look at defencemen under six feet tall. Others prefer to draft only North American players in the first round. Some may place a stronger emphasis on strength in the nets, and look to build from the goal out, while others are looking to lay their foundation on speed and skill. The point is, there are a variety of different ways to go about it, and each club is a little different in their thinking.
Most teams can, however, agree on certain basic points.
If you look closely around the NHL, it's clear that most of the game's top stars and highly skilled players were drafted in the first two or three rounds. In the middle rounds, you look to draft some character, grit, and toughness. In my opinion, this is the area of the draft where the top clubs set themselves apart from the lower echelon teams. Most every NHL scout can spot the skilled players in junior or college hockey within a few minutes upon first viewing. Nabbing the diamonds in the rough is what drives success at the NHL level.