REGINA, Sask. - The 'Big Man' has reached Regina!
NHL Central Scouting's Chris Edwards arrived in the Saskatchewan city on Wednesday afternoon, looking as if he was ... ready for a nap.
"Hey, I was in the war room in Toronto [Tuesday] night charting the Devils-Bruins game, got to bed late and got on a flight to Regina at 8 a.m. [Wednesday] morning," Edwards told NHL.com. "I'll be raring to go tonight though."
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| NHL Central Scouting's Chris Edwards |
"The sun?" asked Edwards. "The sun means nothing here, so don't talk to me about the sun. It's going to get dark rather quickly too."
Edwards is not in the same hotel as me and videographer Steven Hoffner, but we will get together at 6 p.m. ET for the drive over to Brandt Centre. Unfortunately, Eddie informed me that the day he leaves for Western Canada also happened to be the day his stove at home broke down.
"Isn't that just typical," he said. "On the day I leave, the stove breaks and now my wife has to deal with that."
So it begins folks; the life of scout is never predictable or forgiving.
But, besides that, it's all systems go from this point forward. Let the pigeons loose! The gray Nissan Altima is going to be put to the test over the next 72 hours. Following the fifth game of the Subway Super Series on Wednesday at the Brandt Centre in Regina, it's 45 minutes West to Moose Jaw for Game 6 of the Series at Mosaic Place.
Then it's a 2-hour drive West to Swift Current before making a 4-hour trek to Lethbridge. Can you dig it?
"We'll get to the arena tonight and I'll pick up the lineups in the scout's room and then watch pre-game warmups," Edwards said. "No doubt the theme of this trip is life on the road as it's never-ending."
He then looked at me and said: "You sure you want to do this?"
Did you ever find yourself teetering on the hind legs of a four-legged chair, struggling to regain your balance. Well, that's the feeling I got after Eddie raised that question. But, hey, I need to experience this. This is what hockey is all about, right? I've been to NHL games and have seen the stars; now it's time to get dirty in the corners with the men who find them.
Throughout tonight's game, I will be sitting alongside Edwards, asking questions about his scouting routine. I'll blog as often as possible to provide you with all the insight. If you have any questions of NHL Central Scouting's Chris Edwards, please email me at any point during my trip at [email protected] with those inquiries. I'll post your question and Eddie's response at some point over the next four days.
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