Chiefs scouting at fault

Lately, I have been reflecting the success of the Spokane Chiefs in the 1990s.

I had always assumed it was because of the financial success of playing in front of 10,000 fans many nights. Now I realize it was a combination of great coaching and tremendous scouting.

Recently, after reading a story by Jeff Bunch relating to the talent on the Kelowna team where he mentioned the team had a half-dozen NHL draftees, I remembered the years the Chiefs had as many or more. I don’t care who the coach is, if you don’t have the talent you aren’t going to be a championship team.

Something has been missing in the scouting department the last several years. Something is missing locally when brand-new franchises in the league immediately put together the most competitive teams in their division. All we have heard from coaches is that the players are not working hard enough for 60 minutes.

This is not the old senior amateur league. This is a league where every player is working as hard as they can to get to the NHL. Unfortunately, if a coach were to publicly place the blame where it belongs, he might be shown to the nearest door.

It gets quite boorish listening to the blame put squarely on the bottom of the pecking order (kids playing their hearts out). The Chiefs management might consider investing their dollars in better scouting.

I have always watched closely the attendance figures, realizing financial success generally assures a competitive team for the community in future years. The support this small community has provided over the years deserves better.

Allan LeTourneau

Spokane