Building the list

The Sens kicked off their annual scouting meetings yesterday at Canadian Tire Centre as chief amateur scout Trent Mann and his crew start the incredibly detailed process of building their final list for the upcoming draft in Dallas.

"Its sheer excitement," said Mann about the meetings getting underway. "This is our playoff time."
"The staff here works extremely hard. It's been a lot of miles and a lot of games," he continued. "But it's an opportunity for them to pull all their work together and have input into an important decision for this organization."
All those miles and viewings prove to be invaluable though as the task of sorting draft eligible players from across the globe into a sequential order is no easy feat and that's essentially where these meetings begin.
"It starts by separating North America and Europe. You start building your lists by country or league and eventually the funnel just keeps getting smaller and smaller until you eventually narrow it down to your final list," Mann said about the process. "That's why it's important for the scouts to see as many players as possible. It's a lot of players, it's a lot of reports and it's a lot of discussion which turns into a lot of battles which is great for the process."
Just one day into the meetings and Mann has already been impressed with the dialogue between the scouts. With a pair of picks in the first round, including the 4th overall selection, he wants to make sure that everything gets left on the table this week.
"When we started I told the other scouts to be ready to argue and battle," said Mann. "At the end of the day, we all leave as colleagues and friends but right now we have to battle this out to make sure that we've made the best decisions possible."

Obviously a big focus for these meetings is to narrow down the options for the 4th pick but Sens general manager Pierre Dorion has proven that he won't hesitate to pull the trigger on a deal to make his team better. At the 2016 NHL Draft, Dorion packaged a pair of picks to move up one spot and select Logan Brown, a player that came highly recommended from the scouting staff.
So while the group ponders #4 and #22 during these meetings, Mann and the scouts are also preparing for any other scenario that comes their way.
"Based on pick #4, I think we'll be pretty sure," he said. "You aren't really tweaking too much so we'll be pretty decided going in but at the same time if any trade opportunities come up, you have to be ready for that as well. Everybody knows that Pierre likes to have conversations with other GMs on a regular basis to see what's happening and what's available so we're always prepared for that as well.

NHL.COM MOCK DRAFT: [A trio of options for the Senators at #4]

Following the Draft Lottery in Toronto, Dorion described this upcoming draft as "monumental" for the organization and while finishing near the bottom of the standings helped to yield the 4th overall pick, Mann shared that it's their job to turn that "prize" into an on-ice solution for the team.
"Even though we get to pick higher, as a scout, we still hate to lose," shared Mann. "Now it's our opportunity to help the team and make sure that this doesn't happen again. That's what we're hoping to do, keep restocking so we don't have to go through another season like that."
The 2018 NHL Draft is set to take place in Dallas at American Airlines Center from June 22nd-23rd.