Stubb talks life, career as a European scout in Q&A with NHL.com

In NHL.com's Q&A feature called "Sitting Down with …" we talk to key figures in the game, gaining insight into their lives on and off the ice. Today, we feature Goran Stubb, senior adviser of NHL European Scouting services.

Goran Stubb not only played a huge role to help resuscitate hockey in Finland, he provided European hockey and its brightest stars unmatched exposure for more than four decades as the NHL Director of European Scouting.

The 88-year-old scouting architect, who maintained a European scouting branch for NHL Central Scouting since 1983, announced his retirement from that post in July after 40 years of service to NHL member clubs. Jukka-Pekka Vuorinen was handed the reigns as director of European Scouting and Stubb has assumed the role as senior adviser.

"When you've been involved in scouting for NHL teams 40 seasons and you're my age, it's definitely time to step down," Stubb told NHL.com. "I'm proud of the fact the European scouting community has grown from 2-5 scouts to over 130 part-time or full-time European scouts working for NHL teams, mainly in Sweden, Finland, Czechia and some in Russia.

"It's also nice to see that, today, close to 30 percent of the NHL players are raised in Europe."

When it comes to builders of hockey across the pond, few had the influence of Stubb. He was inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame Finland in the builder category as part of the Class of 1991 and the IIHF Hall of Fame, also as a builder, in 2000.

"I've known Goran since I was a boy because my dad (Jim Gregory) struck a relationship with him and came up with a solution to hire Goran's group exclusively in Europe to mimic as much of Central Scouting over in Europe, as here," NHL Central Scouting's David Gregory said. "It was an amazing success story in that it was sort of experimental but look at how many years its lasted. Goran is a man who adapted so well to change as hockey changed and is a smart hockey man with a great sense of humor. He's very good to people and just wanted what was best for the game.

"I got to meet his family when we knew he was retiring and heard the stories. We learned so much from him, but he almost made you think he was learning from you. He's so humble that way. A great human being."

Stubb in 1961 kept afloat the hockey program in Helinski IFK when no one else wanted to do it. He was named Finnish Ice Hockey Association chief executive officer in 1975 and managing director in 1976 before Jim Gregory, then the director of NHL Central Scouting, inquired about possibly building a European central scouting system in 1983.

"Jim understood that Europe was a good future market, as he recruited defenseman Borje Salming and forward Inge Hammarstrom (in 1973) when he was general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs," Stubb said. "A friend of mine, Esko Paltanen, who for many years held a strong position in Finnish hockey, helped introduce and arrange a meeting with Jim in 1983, and the rest is history."

NHL.com recently caught up with Stubb, who is based in Helsinki, to discuss his career, his family, and life as a European scout.

How important a step was it for you to become manager of hockey for Helsinki IFK as a youngster and what did you learn from that experience?

"Hockey was very small 60 years ago in Finland and Helsinki IFK is a big sports organization with soccer, hockey, bandy, track and field, bowling, gymnastics all under its umbrella. The problem was that in 1959-60, they were going to throw their hockey section out unless they found someone to run it and also take responsibility for the financing. I was 26 years old and a bachelor, so I went into it and I'm still in it. It was a big step from being involved in the club's soccer team to take full responsibility for the hockey department. In the beginning everything was on an amateur base. We played outdoor until the Helsinki Ice Hall opened in 1966 and from the 1966-67 season, it was possible to start planning for a team with semi-professional or full-time professionals. The turning point came in 1967, when I managed to get (three-time Stanley Cup champion) Carl Brewer as a player-coach to IFK. Carl, who played defense for the Maple Leafs, gave life to modern hockey not only to Helsinki IFK but also to Finnish hockey in general. I invited him to play in an exhibition tournament in Europe the fall of 1967 and, if he liked it, could return for a full season with his family in 1968-69.

"I was the head of Helsinki IFK ice hockey from the fall, 1961, to the fall, 1975, and won three Finnish championships in that time (1969, 1970, 1974). I believe I learned the hockey business pretty well during my years with IFK."

What experiences do you feel helped benefit you before starting NHL European scouting services?

"During my time as CEO for the Finnish Ice Hockey Association (1976-83), I gained excellent contacts in the international hockey world. Connections and friends who helped me when we started Central Scouting in Europe."

At what point did you feel scouting was your calling?

"Right from the start in the scouting business. I was extremely interested to be involved in building the scouting system in Europe. When I started, only three NHL teams had scouts in Europe: the Edmonton Oilers had Matti Vaisanen, the New York Rangers had Lars-Erik Sjoberg, and the Calgary Flames had Lasse Norrman. While working for the NHL in my first Under-18 European championship in April of 1984 in Germany, there were only 10 total scouts attending. Today, 40 years later, each team may have 10 scouts at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship in April. I believe there was close to 250 scouts attending the tournament in Switzerland in April."

What did Jim Gregory ask of you in early years of the NHL European scouting service?

"Jim gave us the main ideas what the NHL and the NHL club teams wanted from us. That consisted of ranking lists, game reports, ticket and hotel bookings ... just being 'the bridge' between tournament organizers and NHL scouts and helping with visas. During the early years, we also helped different NHL clubs to find scouts in Europe. We had to build the scouting system in Europe, remembering that ice hockey in Europe is organized via the European countries' local hockey associations. The club system and youth hockey system are also different from how it works in North America."

What memories do you have of scouting?

"Traveling to interesting places I would never have gone to without hockey. Meeting a lot of great people. I got a lot of friends via scouting. Only great people are involved in the scouting community."

Can you offer to me the top six players you witnessed as a European scout?

"In Finland, it was Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu. In Sweden, it was Mats Sundin and Peter Forsberg. In Russia, it was Alex Ovechkin, and in Czechia, it was Jaromir Jagr. All six players were very special, future superstars and already playing in Under-18 tournaments at a young age. I saw them all as complete players."

How old are your children and what are they doing now?

"My eldest son, Alexander, is 55. He's a former prime minister of Finland and is a professor and director at the EUI University in Florence, Italy. At present, though, he's one of the top presidential candidates in Finland. The country will elect a new president in late January, early February 2024. Alex is married with two children. My younger son, Nicolas, is 53 and is working as the chief digital officer for a big hotel chain in Finland. He works with digitalization, business technology and traditional IT. He's married and has four children."

What advice do you have for anyone looking to get into scouting, especially overseas?

"Go to as many games as possible, especially the Under-18 and Under-20 league games. That's where the best prospects are playing and where the scouts are. As for skill sets, skating is No. 1 and then your vision and understanding of the game. But if there's one thing I've learned, it's that you never have to look for a top prospect because he just sticks out. And, every year, there are at least 10 players of that caliber who stick out from one game. It's nice to get to know the players but, nowadays, we don't really try to disturb them too much because everybody understands, if you're a 17- or 18-year-old kid in your draft-eligible year, you have 150 scouts phoning you and want to talk with you. It's an impossible situation."