[News] Flames hire Robbie Ftorek and Todd Woodcroft (Director of Scouting)

[Vulcan]

Todd (Woodcroft) will be based out of Minnesota, and will report directly to John Weisbrod

Looks to me that Todd Button's position is gradually being eroded.

[Geeoff]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

It appears the Flames are trying to get a bigger presence in Russia.

They drafted a Russian for the first time in 12 years last draft and now have hired a scout whose expertise is scouting in Russia. Prior to this hiring sounds like they only Russian contact was to call up Igor Kravchuk

Wonder if Nichuskin and the lack of organizational familiarity with Russia forced them to address this.

I think it's pretty obvious which Russians are very talented. Just not so obvious which ones are most likely to stay in the NHL. Probably a big part of Woodcroft's job.

[Flamette]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

No, what they really need is an Executive Coordinator of Coordinators of Titles Coordination. They can fill out the middle-management positions later.

The more bodies they put between Ken King and the product on the ice, the better.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

Looks to me that Todd Button's position is gradually being eroded.

I didn't get that sense from the press release. What made you think that?

"Todd Woodcroft has been hired in the newly created role of Scouting Director. In this role, Todd will assist Director of Amateur Scouting Todd Button and Assistant General Manager of Player Personnel John Weisbrod"

Button remains the Director of Amateur Scouting and thus is still in charge of drafting for a rebuilding team. No erosion to his role so far has been indicated.

[GKDarts]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

I didn't get that sense from the press release. What made you think that?

"Todd Woodcroft has been hired in the newly created role of Scouting Director. In this role, Todd will assist Director of Amateur Scouting Todd Button and Assistant General Manager of Player Personnel John Weisbrod"

Button remains the Director of Amateur Scouting and thus is still in charge of drafting for a rebuilding team. No erosion to his role so far has been indicated.

So, a guy who assists you but doesn't report to you, but rather Weisbrod. To boot, your assistant is given a title that is materially the same as yours (arguably more senior) and more senior than any other junior scout. The writing is on the wall for Button...Dead man walking.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by GKDarts

So, a guy who assists you but doesn't report to you, but rather Weisbrod. To boot, your assistant is given a title that is materially the same as yours (arguably more senior) and more senior than any other junior scout. The writing is on the wall for Button...Dead man walking.

Perhaps.

It's not clear from the press release how much pro scouting he'll do vs amateur.

Be interesting to hear the interview with Woodcroft tomorrow on the Fan, hopefully Pat or whoever gets some questions about who he reports to, what his job entails, etc.

[TheDebaser]

Originally Posted by GKDarts

So, a guy who assists you but doesn't report to you, but rather Weisbrod. To boot, your assistant is given a title that is materially the same as yours (arguably more senior) and more senior than any other junior scout. The writing is on the wall for Button...Dead man walking.

Interesting perspective. He is a relic of the flames terrible drafting years, it could totally be possible that the man is being phased out. The only thing that doesn't make sense is the fact that he still works for the flames. Why bother phasing him out if management wants him gone. Why not just fire him?

Maybe Feaster wants him gone but doesn't want to upset Ken King?

[Ashasx]

Nm

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by GKDarts

So, a guy who assists you but doesn't report to you, but rather Weisbrod. To boot, your assistant is given a title that is materially the same as yours (arguably more senior) and more senior than any other junior scout. The writing is on the wall for Button...Dead man walking.

I wouldn't call him "dead man walking" but his power is being eroded while Feaster builds his empire.

[FAN]

The Ftorek hiring sounds like a Weisbrod hiring all the way. When Ftorek won the Calder Cup with the Albany River Rats, Weisbrod was the GM of that team.

[saillias]

Sounds like potential replacements for both Ward and Button.

That or King & co think throwing more cooks in the kitchen = better food

[FAN]

I like the fact that we are adding another scout, but I would be very concerned if Woodcroft is being set up as Todd Button's replacement. Woodcroft has what? 4-5 years of amateur scouting experience with a very short track record in amateur scouting.

From what I gathered, Woodcroft prescouted NHL teams (for the purposes of formulating game plans?) for the Wild. With the Capitals, he was the Western US scout. Looking at the Capitals draft history, it looks like that Woodcroft may have had a hand (a big hand) in the Capitals drafting Carlson. With the Kings Woodcroft was an European scout for the Kings but the Kings didn't draft any Europeans during his time except for Nikolay Prokhorkin. There's really not a whole lot to go by here.

[FlamesAddiction]

From what I heard about Ftorek is that he is a smart coach and very systems orientated, but players hate to play for him because he makes it hell to lose.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Interview with Woodcroft

http://pmd.fan960.com/audio_on_deman...-Interview.mp3

Doesn't sound like he'll be replacing Button at all so the conspiracy theorists can put that one to rest for a while.

[FAN]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

From what I heard about Ftorek is that he is a smart coach and very systems orientated, but players hate to play for him because he makes it hell to lose.

You mean the coach dumb enough to bench Wayne Gretzky apparently to teach him a lesson in composure?

[Puppet Guy]

The Heat should hunt for some of these old Lange helmets to make Ftorek feel at home:

[Hank Hill]

I found it interesting in the Woodcroft interview that he spent five years living in Belarus and touring KHL cities building contacts and learning the culture.
To me this info will be invaluable when assessing Russian/Eastern European prospects suitability to the NHL or reaching out to KHL contacts for scouting info even if he is based over here.

[TheDebaser]

Originally Posted by FAN

I like the fact that we are adding another scout, but I would be very concerned if Woodcroft is being set up as Todd Button's replacement. Woodcroft has what? 4-5 years of amateur scouting experience with a very short track record in amateur scouting.

From what I gathered, Woodcroft prescouted NHL teams (for the purposes of formulating game plans?) for the Wild. With the Capitals, he was the Western US scout. Looking at the Capitals draft history, it looks like that Woodcroft may have had a hand (a big hand) in the Capitals drafting Carlson. With the Kings Woodcroft was an European scout for the Kings but the Kings didn't draft any Europeans during his time except for Nikolay Prokhorkin. There's really not a whole lot to go by here.

I don't really know which position is held in more esteem but maybe Weisbrod is going to be promoted to director of scouting and Woodcroft is being brought in to fill Weisbrods position?

[Freeway]

Weisbrod reports to Feaster.
All scouts (pro and amateur) report to Weisbrod.
All amateur scouts report to Button, who reports to Weisbrod.
Woodcroft sounds like he'll be a floating Euro/NA body based out of NA to be an extra set of eyes. He reports to Weisbrod but assists him and Button.