Stars' interview technique at combine pushes calm tone

BUFFALO, N.Y. --They call it "the hot seat," but the chair that sat in the middle of the Stars' interview suite at the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo this week was actually a pretty chill place.
While some organizations chose to push players with puzzle questions or inquiries on whether they were a dog or cat person, the Stars simply held conversations with the prospects. In assessing who they might take in the NHL Draft June 22 and 23 at American Airlines Center, the scouting staff and front office believe that a calm talk can be pretty revealing.

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"We want the kids to feel like they can be relaxed and just be themselves in this setting," said Assistant GM Mark Janko. "I think some teams might have a different approach, but our approach is let them try to be themselves and see what they are like away from the rink and try to get them taking about some stuff that would be away from hockey. If we can do that, I think we've done a good job. You want to unzip these guys a little bit and see what they're like on the inside."
Stars GM Jim Nill and Director of Amateur Scouting Joe McDonnell start the interviews and steer the questions, but all of the scouts are able to ask questions. Often, the regional scout who has seen the player most gets a line of questions going, and often it's about a players strengths or weaknesses.
"You want to see how they react," said Nill. "You want to see if their views match up with your views."

Most players are pretty honest in their self-assessments. They know that teams are looking at how you respond and rather than try to out-think the process, the best path is to answer consistently.
"When I talked to Gerry Johannson, that's who I work with, he said just come here and be yourself," said Ty Smith, a defenseman projected to go in the top 15 picks. "They want to get to know you and want to just talk, so they don't want coached answers."
And while most talks are only 10 or 15 minutes, a lot of information gets exchanged. Family life is an important subject to see where the players is coming from and what challenges he has faced. The Stars also like to talk to a player's coach and then ask the player what he thinks his coach said about him.They ask about injury history and see how the player's response stacks up to medical history.
"I like to hear their background stories," said Assistant GM Scott White. "How they got into the game? What did they do to get here? How bad they want it? Some of these guys have battled and given everything, their family has given everything just to get here. I like those stories, because I think those players are going to be hungry."
The 2018 Draft is an unpredictable one, so the Stars could have a lot of things to consider when they select 13th. They also could trade the pick and move up or down, Nill said, so they need to plugged in to a pretty big group of players. As such, they also are asking prospects about players they have played against or with to get a cross-section view. It's a valuable take that goes into the big information pot.

"So much of this is simply being prepared for anything," Nill said. "You want as much information as you can get."
And information that's gathered in a calm setting might be the most accurate.
"They're 17- or 18-year-old kids, so you have to keep that in mind," McDonnell said. "I can't even imagine if back in the day I was 17 and had to come in and sit in front of 10 guys like this and they're grilling you with questions. They're nervous as can be, so you have to take that into consideration."
Which is why the Stars want to calm things down.
"We're not trying to trip them up or anything. A lot of it is simply asking about their background, about their family, and getting information on where they are coming from," McDonnell said. "There are teams that do some funny things, but we're not one of those teams."
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.
Read more: Jim Nill, NHL Draft, Dallas Stars