from Rachel Doerrie of The Hockey News,

The world juniors are over, which means scouts are on their way back to their respective regions to continue scouting the rest of the year, right? Nope. It's mid-term meeting time!

What are mid-term meetings? They're the first time every scout, assistant GM, GM, and president of a team are in the same room since the previous NHL draft. It is the official kick-off to the upcoming draft in June. Here’s an inside look at what happens during January scouting meetings.

Every month, from September to January, the scouting director and crossover scouts (who cover multiple leagues) will jump on a Zoom call with each region. The regions are usually divided as follows: WHL, OHL/QMJHL, U.S. (NCAA, USHL, Prep) and Europe. Some teams separate the U.S. levels, as well as separate Russia from the rest of Europe. It really depends on staffing. They will discuss players from their regions.

In September and October, it is very preliminary and is generally focused on which players to keep a close eye on, who has impressed and who has disappointed. Think about it as a brainstorming, information-gathering session. It’s an opportunity to really discuss who the crossover scouts need to see as we approach the meat of the season.

The November and December calls are a bit more focused. This is when each region will produce some level of player list to give management and crossover scouts an idea of who are the top players from their region.

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