Some well-deserved recognition is due for Alumni members of the Canucks scouting staff over the years, including those from the Canucks family inducted into the Wall of Honour at the recent Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation Banquet in Okotoks, Alberta.

``The Hockey Hall of Fame rarely inducts scouts in its Builders category, but amateur and pro scouts play indispensable roles in shaping the success of top National Hockey League franchises, as well as their farm teams. The WCPHS Foundation started as an idea for cataloging the rich history of scouting in the western regions of Canada and honoring prominent scouts who helped shape its history across different eras.``

``It was an emotional event, honouring the oft-forgotten scouts charged with finding the next superstars after Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby or Paul Coffey and , just as importantly but much more difficult, the next Kelly Buchberger or Ryan Smyth, heart-and-soul guys on a team. Their jobs - no, their passion - took the scouts to hockey rinks around the world, sitting in high corners while missing family birthdays and anniversaries because they loved the game so much.``

``Scouting is the lifeblood of any hockey team, and scouts can live a solitary life. Hours upon hours of travelling from one rink to another, usually by car, often in bad weather. Watching more than 200 games a year, producing reports on hundreds of players, and the payoff is that maybe the team drafts one player from the group you monitored.

And while scouts do qualify for inclusion in the Hockey Hall of Fame, they’re usually overlooked. So an idea like this — believed to be the first of its kind in Canada — is a long time coming.``