NHL Central Scouting players to watch list built to serve as complementary piece for teams

The Scouts Room is a bi-monthly feature throughout the 2026-27 season by NHL scouts and evaluators who examine the game’s top prospects and explain the details that shape their evaluations. In this edition, Karl Stewart, director of NHL Central Scouting, former scout with the Washington Capitals and forward who played 69 NHL games with the Atlanta Thrashers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning, offers an inside look at how Central Scouting identifies draft-eligible talent, develops its preliminary players to watch list, and reaches informed evaluations through live viewings, video study and collaboration among its scouting staff.

NHL Central Scouting's preliminary players to watch list is the first marker in the 2027 NHL Draft process.

I want NHL teams to use Central Scouting as a non-biased tool and a second opinion. If you're a team scout and see a player rated in a spot where you don't believe he belongs, I hope you do not dismiss it. I hope you ask, "Why does Central Scouting, with nine full-time and eight part-time scouts throughout North America, see it this way?"

Perhaps it leads to more homework or a different perspective the next time you see that player. If your opinion remains unchanged, that's fine. We still have done our job.

We'll never replace a team’s scouting director, scouting staff or internal evaluations. With the players to watch list, the message is straightforward: This is our opinion, go see the player, and this is where we believe the player's draft value lies.

That opinion begins taking shape long before a player reaches his draft season. When I joined the Washington Capitals in 2019 after my first stint at Central Scouting, my responsibility was to scout underage players. I traveled widely to watch underage events and saw the value that background brought to Washington. I'm placing a major emphasis on it here.

Evaluation of the next draft class begins almost two years before that player reaches their draft day in June. The larger the book on each player, the more informed our decision will be.

One example is Cooper McAslan of the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League. He played his underage season for the London Nationals in the Greater Ontario Hockey League (GOHL), so he was a bit of an unknown coming into this season. He shows up on a big stage at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup -- a 6-foot-2, 200-pound right-shot defenseman who skates like the wind and moves pucks. Your first reaction is "Holy moly." Instances like this tend to catch scouts off guard.

Using McAslan as an example, the early-stage scouting was the Hlinka, and identifying the attributes. He's a strong skater. He appears intelligent. There is skill, size, compete and character. Every viewing after that you can start projecting what you think he will be in the NHL. Identify the ingredients, then over time the portrait begins to sharpen.

Comparing players across leagues is where experience becomes invaluable. You may be weighing a player in the Western Hockey League against one playing Minnesota high school hockey. When I first scouted Minnesota high schools, I didn't fully appreciate it. I asked then-Central Scouting evaluator Greg Rajanen questions and learned its history, culture and significance. The more I watched, the more I understood you had better not discount it. Really good players come out of those leagues.

As Central Scouting director, my responsibility also is to trust our area scouts. No director can see every player as often as he would like. I'll attend games, study video and form my own opinions, but our scouts have seen the players in their area most. Trusting them is vital to the success of any scouting group.

I also want teams to understand how we arrived at a decision. When I was with the Washington Capitals (2019-26) and studied Central Scouting's final list, I didn't simply want to know where a player was ranked. I wanted to know why. The reasoning behind a ranking is more valuable than a name and number without context.

One difficult part of evaluating players this early is resisting the urge to overvalue someone. It's easy to get excited after a good game. A team can adjust its internal list quietly. If Central Scouting identifies someone as an A-rated player and we tell all 32 teams this is a first-round player, moving him back later becomes more difficult. Moving a player up is easy.

That's why I tend to be measured. I don't want to become overly enthusiastic or overly critical because of one game, one shift or even three games. The body of work, perhaps a full season or two of viewings, is the better indicator.

I hope players, families and fans appreciate how much work goes into the players to watch list. There are flights, delays, long drives and even extra days in Newfoundland because the ferry is not operating. Our scouts take every evaluation seriously. Every upgrade or downgrade reflects considerable thought.

If a player believes he should be rated higher, or is not rated at all, use it as motivation. It's a list, and we're making recommendations to NHL teams. If you're a player and don't like where you are, get angry and prove us wrong. I have no issue with us being the reason.

University of Michigan defenseman Landon DuPont illustrates why this work carries such importance. People like comparisons, so ask yourself: "Would you pass on Quinn Hughes?" When Landon controls and dominates a game, you can say with confidence, "I know he will play that way and run a power play in the NHL one day."

You cannot easily trade for that player or find him in free agency without giving up half your team and paying a huge price. The draft gives you an opportunity to get that special player.

When you know, you do not pass.