The Atlanta Flames selected Tim Hunter in the third round, 54th overall, of the NHL’s 1979 draft. He went on to play 16 seasons in the NHL, with the Calgary Flames, Quebec Nordiques, Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks.

He had played two seasons with the WHL’s Seattle Breakers, totalling 116 points, including 22 goals, and 611 penalty minutes. It was after his first season with Seattle (1978-79) that the Flames drafted him.

The man who went to bat for him with the Flames was Ian McKenzie, a veteran scout. It was his job to watch Hunter, as he did all prospects, and attempt to project the player into the future. McKenzie obviously saw something that he really, really liked because he pushed — and pushed hard — for the Flames to select Hunter in that draft.

McKenzie, who died on May 31, 2022, was inducted into the Western Canadian Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation’s Wall of Honour in Okotoks, Alta. on July 30.

Hunter was there for the induction dinner and ceremony. Before leaving home and heading to Okotoks, he wanted to pay tribute to the man who came to know him so well inside and out.

Here, in his own words, is what Ian McKenzie meant to Tim Hunter.

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By TIM HUNTER

When you are drafted by an NHL team as a young player you immediately think of all the people who were important in helping you along the way. You go to the obvious ones first — your parents, your minor hockey coaches and then your junior coaches and the strength trainer who helped you, and maybe the guy who allowed you to skate with the older guys in the summer to get in shape and work on your game. The guy who gets missed is a guy you don’t really know that well, but to whom you may have talked to a few times. He is an NHL scout.

This is the guy who has seen you play in person six, eight, maybe 10 times during your draft year. He has written a report for every time he has seen you play, making sure all the positives in your game and character are highlighted and some are made to be a bit glossier than they really are. He has talked to your coaches, managers, opposing coaches and players you have played with, about your work ethic, your compete level, your habits and how driven you are. He has even talked with your billet, the guy who opens the penalty box door in most rinks, the linesmen and the referees. He is asking them questions about your character and your demeanour, not your hockey sense or skill. He is searching for a reason to push you to the head of the class.

He has travelled countless miles over four provinces and three or four states to see you play. Spent many hours in meetings, up to five times a season leading up to the draft, to pound the table for you and what you will be in a couple of years as a NHLer.

That guy for me was Ian McKenzie. He went to bat for me in the 1979 NHL entry draft and made sure Cliff Fletcher of the Atlanta Flames was going to draft me as an underage. Cliff and David Poile told me at training camp all the work Ian had put in watching me and bragging about me. They said: “You better not let him down.”

As a person I never wanted to let anyone down, I was always first on the ice and last off, and Ian knew this. Once I was in the Flames organization Ian was always giving me pointers and telling me what I needed to work on to play in the NHL. Ian would talk to me before camp on what to expect and how hard I had to work. If Ian noticed something in a game he would stop by before or after practice and tell me I had to work on taking pucks around the boards or play in the corners, for example. The next thing I knew, Al McNeil would have some drills for me to work on pucks around the boards and corner work. This didn’t just happen the first couple years of my career; it lasted the 11 years I was with the Calgary Flames. Ian was working harder than the coaches and paying attention to my deficiencies, because he wanted me to succeed.

At the our Flames’ 25th anniversary of winning the 1989 Stanley Cup, Ian and I had a nice chat about our time together and I thanked him for all he had done for me and he told me how proud he was, not only of me but Vernie and Theo as well.

Ian, we are very proud of you being honoured by the Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation and going on their Wall of Honour. It’s very well deserved. Thanks for all those miles, kind words and the words of wisdom. It was all well worth it.

Gregg Drinnan
Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation
hockeyscoutsfoundation.com
[email protected]