Scouting

A scouting report is your read on a player beyond his ratings: how far he can still grow, what form he is in, how he does in each system and what kind of teammate he is. Ask for one before you trade for a player, sign him or build around him.

Scouting a player

Choose Request scouting… from the Actions menu on his player page or from the menu on his row in a roster; in the player panel it is Scout, or Request scouting… under the panel’s ⋮ menu. Pick a report, pick how thorough it should be, and press Request.

You can scout any player in your world who is still playing: your own, another club’s, a free agent or a junior. You need a club of your own to do it. Goalies can’t get an Offense or Defense report, and skaters can’t get a Goalie saving report.

The request window shows roughly how many days each report will take once your scout starts on it. A Summary is the quickest and a Potential report takes longest; the others sit in between. A more thorough report never takes less time, and often more; a player on another club never takes less time than one of your own, and often more.

Scouting is open to every manager; Premium changes nothing here. There is no limit on how many requests you make, but you can’t have two out for the same player.

The reports

Pick the report that answers your question. If you only want to know whether a player is worth a closer look, a Summary is the quickest read. If you are weighing him for the systems you play, an Offense or Defense report shows how he does in each of them; read the rows for your own tactics.

Every report opens with the same read:

• Potential ceiling — how much talent he has: Untalented, Capable, Gifted or Elite.
• Current form — how well he is playing right now: Bad, Average, Good or Excellent.
• Fits your need for — the kinds of roster need he would fill at your league level, such as Star Player, Depth Player or Prospect.
• Personality — his main type and, if he has one, the type he leans toward. See player personality.
• His club and the role he is contracted for, if he has a club.

For one of your own players, Development on his player page already shows his Current form and Potential, so a Summary adds little; ask for one of the other reports instead.

Summary

The opening read and nothing more: the quick look, to decide whether a player deserves a closer one.

Offense

How he creates chances (Playmaking) and finishes them (Scoring) in each offensive system and each power-play system, plus a set of his general ratings.

Defense

How he defends in each defensive and penalty-kill system, and how he holds up against each offensive and power-play system, plus a set of his general ratings.

Goalie saving

How well he saves against each offensive system, plus his general goalie ratings. What each rating does is on goalie ratings.

Potential

His potential in six areas — Agility, Strength, Vision, Precision, Stamina and Courage — which set how far his attributes can grow (see training and development). A quicker report reads only some of them; an area your scout did not read shows as Not scouted.

It also projects where his ratings may end up. The Three-year projection sets each rating and his Overall as they are today beside where they were heading when the report was written, with the roster needs he is projected to grow into. The report also warns when he may retire within the next few years; what that warning reads is on decline and retirement.

Profile

His personality in full, his impact on your team’s culture, and the players on your roster he Gels with and Clashes with. What these mean is on player personality.

The words in the Offense, Defense and Goalie saving reports — Bad, Average, Good, Excellent — are measured against the league you play in now.

Thoroughness

Choose Brief, Normal or Extensive for each request; Normal is preselected. When you are about to commit to a player in a trade or a long contract, an Extensive report comes closest.

A more thorough report reads closer to the truth and shows more, and it takes longer. The ratings, form and potential your scout reads can be off, a Brief report the most and an Extensive one the least; his personality and his impact on your team’s culture are read exactly.

What changes with thoroughness:

• A Brief report leaves out his current form.
• Only an Extensive report adds the role he would prefer and how much he has played in his last ten days, if he has a club.
• An Offense, Defense or Goalie saving report rates more of his general ratings the more thorough it is.
• A Brief Profile leaves out the impact on your team’s culture, and a more thorough one can name more players he gels or clashes with.

The Scouting Center

The Scouting Center holds your requests and your reports. Open it with Scouting Center… from the Actions menu in the Transfer Center, or with View scouting report… on a player you have scouted, which opens it on him.

Your scouting lists every player you have scouted or are scouting, with a search and a filter for report type, position, status, your own players and juniors. Pick a player to read his report.

Your scout works on one report at a time in each world. If nothing else is in progress, he starts at once; otherwise the request waits as Queued. If one request matters more than the rest, move it up the line with ▲ on its row; ▼ moves it down and ✕ takes it out of the queue. The report in progress can’t be moved or removed; it runs to the end.

A report arrives on the day it is due, and the next one in line starts that same day. Your notifications tell you when your scout sets out (Scouting started) and when a report is in (Scouting finished).

A report shows the player as he was on the day it was written, and the date is on the report. The exceptions are the Potential report’s ratings today and its retirement warning, which show him as he is now. Scout him again for a fresh read; his earlier reports stay, and you can switch between them. Reports are cleared away after a few seasons. If you leave a world, your pending requests there are cleared (see manager career).

Worth knowing

• Scouting a player on your own club is never slower than scouting another club’s player, and often faster.
• Your scout works on one report at a time in each world; every other request waits in the order you set.
• The words in an Offense, Defense or Goalie saving report are measured against the league you play in now, so the same report can read differently after you move up or down.
• Even an Extensive report can misread a rating; a Brief one misreads the most.