Dubas' Leadership Shines at NHL Scouting Combine

Just a few days after being introduced as Pittsburgh's President of Hockey Operations, Kyle Dubas headed to Buffalo for the annual NHL Scouting Combine.

His new role, where he oversees all aspects of the hockey operations department, certainly felt real enough during that initial press conference. But receiving his credential that listed the Pittsburgh Penguins as his team was a nice reminder that Dubas is now part of an organization that has, as he put it, a deep winning history and a great group of people.

"This is the first event where you go in and you're a part of the Pittsburgh Penguins; you're with the staff that are all trying to help the Pittsburgh Penguins win a Stanley Cup; and you're in amongst other staffs that are all trying to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins on that same journey," Dubas said.

"It's the first moment since I've been on the job where you're back out amongst other teams and in that competitive spirit a little bit. Even though you obviously have cordial and good relationships, you know that deep down, everyone is trying to beat everybody else and get to the top, and that's what we're intending to do."

The NHL Scouting Combine, which began on Monday and goes through Saturday, is an important part of the preparation process leading into the NHL Draft, set for June 28-29 in Nashville. A hundred-plus prospects from North America and Europe take part in the event, which consists of fitness testing, medical assessments, and most importantly, interviews with the teams.

Those interviews took place over the span of a few eight-hour days. Each club was assigned a suite at the KeyBank Center, where they got about 20 minutes with each player on their list. The Penguins, who have the 14th overall pick, ended up speaking with almost 60 prospects to continue building up the overall picture of who these players are, both on and off the ice.

"Throughout the year, each regional scout puts a lot of time and effort into getting us to this point and kind of preparing us for every player," Penguins director of amateur scouting Nick Pryor said. "And then, it's always nice to be able to see a kid face to face and be able to ask them some of your own questions that you have … maybe check some of the boxes that we don't feel that we have checked at this point, and just leave here with a better overall feel and sense for each kid."

Dubas' participation in this event said a lot about his leadership style. As he is also handling general manager duties on an interim basis through July, Dubas could have left this portion to the amateur scouting crew. Instead, he made time to travel from Toronto to Buffalo to be involved in a couple long days of draft prep in the midst of a chaotic time for not only Dubas, but also his family - wife Shannon, son Leo, and daughter Lennon.

"I think number one, it was important for me to be here with the staff, because I haven't worked with them the whole year," Dubas said. "So be here in support of them, get to meet people who I don't have as long a track record with.

"But, more importantly, just to get to see the process that the team goes through and learn the way that they go about it, so that I can try to be helpful and help the process as we go through the next few weeks before the draft in Nashville."

And it wasn't just that Dubas was there - it was that he was completely engaged. On Dubas' first day in Buffalo earlier this week, he got to Pittsburgh's suite bright and early before the rest of the crew arrived. Once they did, Dubas greeted everyone warmly, and made it clear right away that he was deferring to them in this process, and that it shouldn't be the other way around.

He has a tremendous appreciation and respect for the amount of work that goes into scouting, mentioning all of the time spent on the road and on the phone digging in to ensure proper due diligence. After all, Dubas did it himself at one point, getting named as a scout for the Ontario Hockey League's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds when he was just 17 years old.

"So, I don't want to take away from that at all," Dubas said. "I want to just support them and try to help them, and learn the way that they're doing things so they can help me as we go through the next two weeks, but probably more importantly, into the offseason."

A long table was set up in the middle of Pittsburgh's suite, with chairs lined up around it, including one at the head for the player. Dubas left those for the team conducting the interviews: Pryor, global crossover scouts Colin Alexander and Garrett Peters, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton general manager and manager of hockey operations Erik Heasley, and Dr. Kevin Wildenhaus, former sports psychologist for the Pittsburgh Steelers who is now part of the Penguins' player performance group.

Instead, Dubas opted to sit off to the side, in a high-top chair over the prospect's left shoulder. He was set up with a notebook and pen, his iPad and two phones (which earned some laughs from the staff), and a large cup of black coffee (Dubas has lost track of how much he's consumed at this point).

Once the day got underway, Pryor began each interview with a couple of questions designed to get the kid comfortable, and from there, they were generally pretty generic - though specific prompts were planned for certain prospects.

Dubas was focused and observant during every session, with each player getting his full attention, as he really only looked away to make notes. He was true to his word about not wanting to interrupt the flow, only asking follow-ups here and there. For example, when a forward mentioned that he had driven his line last season, Dubas said, "what exactly does driving a line mean to you?" And when another said he liked listening to podcasts, Dubas wanted to know which ones.

Dubas did have one specific question he asked at the end, which was some variation of: "if I was going to watch one game of you at your absolute best from this year, what game would you tell me to watch?" Some kids answered without much hesitation, but there was one prospect in particular who thought long and hard. And instead of pressuring him for a response, Dubas offered him the chance to think about it more, saying he could text him with his reply by the end of the day, with the two exchanging numbers.

It was clear that Dubas relishes this particular area of the draft process, saying, "I really enjoy this part of it. Enjoy getting to know the players and who they are, in case you draft the players, so you know the type of people that are coming into the organization. And also, I know it's only been a few days, but start to identify the types of people that we want to bring in that are going to become great Pittsburgh Penguins."

And speaking of great Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby was drafted by the organization all the way back in 2005, the year most of these kids were born. Having grown up watching him, they all possess so much admiration and respect for the captain, which definitely came across.

"I know there's no perfect people, but he's as close to perfect as it gets," one prospect said before wanting to know more about what sets Crosby apart from everyone else, as the Penguins gave the kids a chance to ask questions of their own at the end.

Dubas would debrief with the staff after each interview wrapped up, going to both lunch and dinner with everyone on that first day. On the second day, Dubas was more in and out, unable to sit in on every interview because of phone calls, meetings and other obligations, but remained locked in when he was part of one.

Moving forward, Dubas believes you generally leave the Scouting Combine with more questions that they'll turn over to the appropriate personnel to follow up on, whether that's the area scouts or members of the performance and medical staffs, as they continue to try and perfect their draft list.

"Nick has done a great job of identifying things about players that you didn't know before you came in and verifying them or substantiating them, and basically kind of setting your plan for once you get to Nashville, what more you want to do," Dubas said. "You tend to leave here with a better idea, if you can dig around and gather intelligence as to what players are more likely to be there in their range when they arrive."

Dubas truly lived up to his stellar reputation as a leader who fosters collaborative relationships with everyone around him during his stop in Buffalo, leaving a great impression on the Penguins scouting staff, who appreciated having him around and getting the chance to have some good conversations.

"I think I speak for everybody that's here with the Penguins that we've enjoyed one, getting to know him, and two, learning from him," Pryor said. "Obviously extremely intelligent, and we can learn a lot from him. He's been really open asking us questions. We've been able to ask him questions as well and kind of pick his brain. So, anytime you get a chance to spend with him and get to know him and understand him and his path - he's been extremely successful and he's really intelligent, so it's always good to be able to pick his brain."