John Chayka

I spent some time with them today.

I feel really comfortable here.

uh with where they have things and um you know again it's a big decision and we got to be thorough and we got to be diligent but i have no reservations that this group's not prepared to make the right decision

It's a great question.

I would just say, you know, I think every manager is different in how they approach the draft.

Certainly some guys, you know, that that's how they were brought up and that's what they love to do.

And they're super involved and super engaged.

And that's great.

I think for my seat, like I'm always a big process guy.

uh it's a really hard thing to do um and uh it's one of the most challenging uh problems i've ever come across in life and like uh i just find that you know their their experience their intuition what they've gone through how they've learned um the mistakes they've made the adjustments they've made over decades are super important and so you know obviously you know the first overall picks an organizational pick

And, you know, it's an important one to get right and we'll dig in and I'll be a part of that process.

But I would say, honestly, my part is a part of it.

At the end of the day, though, you know, it will be on my record and I own that.

And but same time, that's why you have to have a good staff and empower them to do a good job.

Yeah, sure.

I think it's just any business evolves, you know, new technologies come out and you evolve your process.

I think that one of the challenges of scouting is, and especially in hockey specifically, just have this massive player pool across, you know, different continents.

And so, you know, if you're one person trying to get a good feel for the entire drafts, it's almost impossible to get a good sample size.

You know, you can do it and you can see everybody, but I think it's a bit of a supplement and, you know, how can you,

uh you know use data use video use it you know in person experiences um just get the fullest picture possible and like i said even after you've done all of that uh it's a very challenging decision to make um and you're trying to blend all these things in a in a really artistic way as opposed to just being pure science but i think i think anyone that's gone through it and done it has got the humility to understand that