The scouting report has arrived: “A short but solid past . . . looking at a bright future. May even have to wear sunglasses at night.”

The scout in question was, of course, referring to the Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation, which is now in the early days of its third year of existence. You may recall that the Foundation was born over the summer of 2023. There had been a lot of chatter over a number of years as a handful of NHL scouts talked and talked and talked about doing something to recognize those who had come before them.

Finally, it came down to this: “If we’re going to do something, let’s get it done.”

It all began with the startup banquet, a roast of Hockey Night in Canada’s Ron MacLean, in Okotoks, Alta., on Sept. 30, 2023. That provided the funds to allow the Foundation to establish its Wall of Honour in Okotoks and since then, well, let’s take a look.

There have already been two Wall of Honour induction dinners, with a total of 75 past and present-day scouts having been honoured — 45 on July 30, 2024, and 30 on July 29, 2025.

And the hockey world has taken notice. As Mike Johnston, the Portland Winterhawks’ president and general manager, wrote after the 2025 dinner: “The banquet . . . was one of the more impressive events I have been to. Scouts are the backbone of the NHL and definitely the CHL. For the most part, they don’t get the accolades, but I know their impact. Once you have next year’s dinner confirmed, I will send it to everyone in our league and encourage them to attend.”

Three months later, the Foundation played host to another banquet, this one was billed as Celebrating Indigenous Hockey Legends, presented by Bouchier. It was held in Regina on Sept. 30 and received rave reviews.

The decision by Bouchier to come on board as the presenting sponsor was huge, as was news that the NHL had agreed to send along a couple of its awards — the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Canadian version of the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award.

(Photos and video from the Regina banquet are available for viewing at hockeyscoutsfoundation.com. While there, you can also take a look and see an impressive list of businesses and organizations that have come aboard as sponsors.)

And now you’re wondering what’s next for the Foundation, what with another hockey season underway and the scouts back on the trail.  Well, let’s just say the road forward never ends.

There will, of course, be a third annual induction dinner in Okotoks at some point during the summer of 2026. That dinner will always be the focal point of the Foundation’s year. An announcement involving the 2026 inductees can be expected sometime in the first three or four months of the year.

But what about the Celebrating Indigenous Hockey Legends dinner? Was it a one-and-done affair? Actually, the Sept. 30 event was such a smash hit that there have been suggestions that perhaps it should be an annual event, one that would be held in a different Western Canadian community each year.

There have also been preliminary — very preliminary — discussions about becoming involved in the making of a documentary, one that would explain all there is to know about the Foundation, starting with why and how it came to be. If you aren’t aware, the Foundation is one of a kind in Canada — the only organization in the country whose focus is honouring scouts.

The Foundation will also continue to help those in the scouting fraternity who happen to encounter some of life’s speed bumps and might need some financial help to overcome them.

And there will continue to be involvement with charitable organizations. In recent times, the Foundation has helped out the BC/Yukon branch of the Kidney Foundation of Canada, along with the Circle Project, KidSport and the Ranch Ehrlo Outdoor Hockey League, three Regina-based organization that work with Indigenous families.

The Foundation also wants to get involved in playing host to sessions for potential future scouts, as well as coaches, parents and players, all with the goal of providing information about what might lay ahead on the road they hope to travel.

Yes, as the Foundation’s members travel the highways and byways of Western Canada, the Foundation looks back at what it has accomplished to date and knows that the road ahead also will be full of adventures.

Gregg Drinnan
Editor/Historian
Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation