WHL Prospects Draft Preview: Scout’s Edition (Part 6)
The 2024 WHL Prospects Draft Preview Presented by Windsor Plywood Prince Albert continues with Part 6. Today we go south of the border to learn about United States scout, Derrick Wright.
How did you become a scout for the Raiders?
“This is where it’s kind of unique. I was living up in Seattle, and I was working for Boeing aircraft as my daytime job. A long time ago I worked for the LA Kings for 10 years in game night operations and I got to be really tight with the hockey ops. I got to know one of them, who was the Assistant to the General Manager, he and I were good friends. While I was up there, I was close to the WHL teams in Everett and Seattle and I said ‘I’d love to learn how to scout’. I figured I knew a little bit about scouting but I never actually done any. So he sent me what the Kings use for what their General Manager expects out of his scouts, the write ups and what they look for in a player, so I used that as a guideline.
I’d go to games with my wife and kids and I’d scout, and I’d write notes on players. And then finally he said ‘you know, you’re getting pretty good at this, why don’t you set up some cold calls with some of the Canadian clubs’. So I sent an open letter to all the General Managers in the Canadian part of the WHL, and Curtis (Hunt) was the only one that responded. He called me right after the final, I think it was when Swift Current won. I think it was kind of a test on the phone call, because he would go ‘what do you think about this player’, and he named a player off Everett’s roster. And I said this and that, kind of making my opinions, and he goes ‘yeah I think this will work out’, so after a while I guess I passed the test.
Everett has a tournament on labour day where they invite all the Vancouver and all the clubs in Washington and down in Portland, and they hold this tournament. So Curtis cracked me up and he said ‘I need a write up on every player’. It was like three consecutive years of looking at these rosters and saying ‘Curtis, you want me to write up a report on 20-25 guys in each game?’ and he said ‘yeah I do.’ They had like five games a day and I’m just thinking I’m going to be dead tired. At the end of the weekend I wrote everything up and he’s calling me ‘Writer’. ‘One, because of your last name, and two STOP WRITING SO DAMN MUCH.’
I had written a report on Reece Vitelli, I watched Reece play 150-180 games before we made the trade for him. Curtis based the trade on some of my perspectives and my scouting on Reece, so I started there scouting the western part of the league. Then when I retired Curtis goes ‘what are you doing, you’re killing me’. So I said ‘what about scouting bantams?’ So I’ve had the Texas territory and a little bit of wherever Bruno (Zarrillo) wants to send me. Last year I was up in the Pacific region for a championship in San Jose.
How did you get your start in LA as part of the game night operations crew?
That’s a time where I had a job, but I thought I could get a job in sports. This was when the whole get a job in sports kind of bloomed in the 90’s. LA went to the finals and then I ended up working roller hockey, tennis, and indoor soccer. That was kind of cool. In roller hockey, Bobby Hull Jr. was our coach for the LA Blades. I ended up hanging out one night with Bobby, Brett, and Bobby Hull Jr. That was a trip. The next year, the Kings were looking for interns, and I ended up getting there in ’95, where I worked for 10 years. I got to catch the end of Wayne Gretzky’s career as an LA King, which was pretty wild working for him. That was just kind of working with Public Relations on that side of things. They closed down the Forum and opened up the Staples Centre (now Crypto.Com Arena). I got to see the team from all angles.
So when Gretzky got traded, the lead PR guy said he wanted me to write all these stories for me on the trades and talk to the GM. Those were fun times. I saw a lot of hockey, and once you start talking to people who are in the industry, you start learning stuff and seeing the game in a different way. It’s kind of inevitable that it led to where I’m at now.
Now, working for Curtis and doing all this scouting, I just wanted to learn from him and learn the certain things to look for. When you watch that much hockey, it’s just second nature, you start to notice things. I can’t even watch the NHL anymore, I just watch the WHL, because the kids just seem to be getting better and better every year.
What drove you to become a scout?
When I moved down here I decided I wanted to help the kids, and I want to help them move forward. I think it is hard for US born players, especially when we’re dealing with the US teams who are taking our kids. I like to see them move forward, and just getting to know them and chat with them, see how they’re doing. It’s funny, we listed a kid that I saw play in Dallas and was the son of an NHL player, and we were going to invite him to camp. I talked to his dad and we both had a chuckle because we were both saying the same thing about what the kid needs to get better at. But my whole goal is to see kids move on. If they play in our league, great. If they play for us, great. I just want to see them improve, that’s my desire, is just to see them play well.
Did you play hockey growing up?
I played a little backyard hockey growing up in Southern California. Ice rinks weren’t available all the time. It ended up being a little later in life that I learned how to skate. I played for a couple years but by then I was in my 30’s, and beer league is not for me.
You mentioned Reece Vitelli. He was a former captain when he was traded here from Everett. Would you say he has been the best Raider to come through the organization that was scouted by yourself?
Yeah, I think Reece is the guy I’m most proud of. I’ve watched pretty much every American player that we’ve drafted. Reece was a guy that I watched a lot of, and he was one of those players that was just steady, really solid, got in on the puck, but you just thought that in the right environment he could do more. I think that showed up when he became the captain of the Raiders. When I heard that I was not surprised at all, because he’s one of those heart and soul guys. There were other guys that may have had higher skills, but I thought Reece didn’t give himself enough credit for the offensive skill level that he had. He was just such a stand up guy for his teammates.
When you’re scouting players, what are the qualities you look for?
Size is something you can’t teach. Obviously there’s so much more to look at, but size is what you notice. But on top of that, I’m looking at how players move. Are they moving their feet, are they engaged in the play. If they’re moving their feet, if their feet are quick, they’re going to have quick hands. The Raider way of playing is to be tough on the boards and along the half wall, getting in on the forecheck and making guys uncomfortable. The guys who can skate well and put the puck on the net, we’re obviously looking for that, but the ones who can get in on the boards are important. There are always things you can teach. If a guys got good hands, you can work on his shot, and vice versa.
With all the hours and time on the road during the hockey season, what does your summer look like?
I’ve got two daughters, one lives in California, the other lives in Vegas, she’s a flight attendant. Once the draft is over, I’ll wind down a bit. The summer gets really hot down here. I try not to think about hockey until August, and then it gets going again with tournaments and stuff. I’ve got friends who are scouts, and we compare notes on kids and share information. But for us this summer, we’re putting together a trip to Ireland. Last year we went to Alaska on a cruise, so we like to travel. It’s just downtime and trying not to think about hockey, because I’ll get enough of if during the season. But by the end of the summer, I’m dying to get back in the rink.