WHL Prospects Draft Preview: Scout’s Edition (Part 1)
While the Prince Albert Raiders won’t play another game until September, the Hockey Operations staff is getting ready for one of their biggest days of the year. On May 9th, the WHL Prospects Draft kicks off, with Prince Albert holding the second and ninth overall picks. Among the Hockey Ops crew is Manitoba Regional Scout Troy Hickman. We got to know a little more about him and his scouting duties.
“I’m based out of Brandon, but I’m originally from Russell, Manitoba,” he said. “I’ve been in Brandon since 2001. I was hired by Dale Derkatch in 2011 to work alongside our Director of Player Personnel Bruno (Zarrillo) as the Manitoba Regional Scout.”
With nearly 15 years of scouting experience with the Raiders, Hickman has seen his fair share of the road, and an abundance of young players looking to make the next step in their junior hockey careers.
“The amount of games I watch varies from year to year depending on family and work commitments. It could be anywhere between 100-200+ games per season.”
But where did Hickman find a passion for scouting? He says it goes way back to his playing days, going back to the early 1990’s.
“I’ve always had an interest in scouting as a player. I’ve always loved watching and analyzing different players. I’ve been very fortunate to work alongside a lot of great individuals over the years.”
Before his scouting days began, Hickman was a WHL drafted player, before enjoying a long Junior A career.
“I played minor hockey in Russell. I was fortunate enough to be drafted into the Western Hockey League by the Moose Jaw Warriors in 1995, a long, long time ago. I moved on to U18AAA in Dauphin for two years, and then to Junior A for four years.”
Those four years of Junior A included stints with the Selkirk Steelers, Neepawa Natives, and Waywayseecappo Wolverines in the MJHL. He also suited up for games with the Yorkton Terriers and Kindersley Klippers in the SJHL.
Once his playing days in senior hockey were over, Hickman kept his passion for hockey going, as his scouting role with the Raiders began. All the countless hours on the road and in the rink culminated in 2019, when the Raiders captured their second Ed Chynoweth Cup, defeating the Vancouver Giants in overtime of game seven. Hickman says he is particularly proud of a few names on the team that he scouted.
“Justin Nachbaur, he’s from Manitoba. Zack Hayes and Parker Kelly from Alberta. Those are three of many players that I’m proud of. We drafted Justin in 2015 in the seventh round. Parker and Zack in 2014, Parker was a seventh rounder, Zack was a ninth rounder. They all played four years with the Raiders, including winning the WHL title, and they have all moved on to play professional hockey.”
Five years later, Prince Albert’s future is looking bright, with young stars like Daxon Rudolph, Riley Boychuk, and Ty Meunier poised to make an impact on the club over the next few years. But for now, Hickman is one of many other scouts on the Raiders’ Hockey Ops staff who are looking for the next championship caliber players. Leading up to the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft, he explains what kind of qualities he is looking for in the young players who hope to see their name selected in this year’s draft.
“When I’m watching games, I’m looking at players and their skating, their puck skills, how they understand the game,” he said. “Their game sense and vision, what their body language is like on and off the ice. I personally feel like body language tells a lot about a person. We are all looking for the best player available. The player that has character and skill that can come into Prince Albert and be a good player. But not only a good player, but a good person in the community.”
Once the draft is over, Hickman can finally enjoy time off in the summer. He says that mainly consists of spending time with his family, with the odd rink mixed in.
“I do attend two events over the summer, but I’m very fortunate that my wife and I are both teachers. We spend majority of the summer at our seasonal spot at the lake with our two daughters.”
