Dan Mackinnon, Director of Player Personnel - Pittsburgh Penguins
I recently had the opportunity to interview an old acquaintance and all around good guy, Dan MacKinnon of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Dan is currently the Director of Player Personnel for the team and was kind enough to offer insights on his position, the salary cap and a good way to beef up your iPod playlist.
PondRocket - Dan, can you describe your responsibilities as the Director of Player Personnel?
Dan MacKinnon - I help head up all our scouting and player personnel initiatives. I consult directly with our General Manager, Ray Shero on most player related matters and I communicate regularly with our head amateur scout, our head pro scout, our coaching staffs in Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre, and our Assistant GM and Assistant to the GM. It sounds like a big team of people but there is just so much to do in modern major professional sports. I have an emphasis on pro scouting but I also see all the top amateur Draft talent each year as well.
PR - You have a job that many folks would dream of having, what is your background and how did you get your start toward a hockey operations career?
DM - I played junior and college hockey in Canada and I initially thought about a post playing career in coaching. I served for a year as a Graduate Assistant Coach at Ohio University. However, new opportunities were becoming available in the NHL as organizations grew their hockey operations departments and also as the league started to expand again in the late 1990's. I was fortunate to catch on with the Nashville Predators where I first worked with Ray Shero who was the Assistant GM there at the time.
PR - I am sure that no two days in the office are alike, but can you describe a “typical” workday for the Director of Player Personnel of the Pittsburgh Penguins?
DM - The pace of my day is all dictated by what type of travel I am doing. For instance, I am writing this e-mail to you from an airport lounge in Vienna on my way to a U-18 international tournament in Slovakia. Travel is really the single biggest component of the job other than the actual in-game scouting. Most fulltime scouts are at least part professional traveler.
PR - How has the salary cap changed the way you do your job compared to the days before the cap?
DM - The Cap simply puts more pressure on all areas of hockey operations, scouting being no exception. It is harder to hide mistakes than it was before (i.e. bad contracts, bad trades, poor drafting etc...). In the pre-Cap era, affluent teams could simply re-load through free agency and run up their payrolls. You can't do that anymore.
PR - Does the salary cap put more of an emphasis on the draft and your minor league development?
DM - The Cap puts more pressure on all areas of player procurement. You have to draft well and this is typically where you will build your team's foundation, but you also have to consistently supplement your team through other avenues: trades, free agency, waivers, European scouting and certainly strong development work in your minor league outfit.
PR - What do you feel is the toughest / must have position to fill to contend in the NHL playoffs?
DM - This is open to debate but I think it is hard to overcome a deep and cohesive defense-corps. Having a legitimate top-4 defense group backed by a solid 5 and 6 is almost essential to going four rounds in the post season.
PR - Does your focus differ between the off-season and in-season? If so, how?
DM - The off-season is more about building and strategically aligning your team for the upcoming year. There are lots more meetings, discussion and planning in the off-season. In-season is very hectic where we are all focused on building our knowledge base with continual viewings and reacting when we have to as player personnel issues arise.
PR - How many games are you working a season?
DM - I work approximately 175 games per year.
PR - What did you do on your day with the Stanley Cup following the 2008-09 championship season?
DM - It was a great day. We had the Cup to our home in Sylvania, OH. We took it to the community rink where my kids learned to skate and did a little fundraiser for girl’s hockey there. Then I hosted a party for 50 to 60 friends at the Sylvania Country Club, which capped the day off nicely.
PR - When you are on the road working those 175 games, which NHL city is your favorite to visit?
DM - I still love the traditional hockey cities of Montreal and Toronto. The games are so meaningful there and you always feel like you are doing important work in these markets.
PR – The PondRocket brand draws inspiration from the passion and tradition of the game. What is your favorite hockey tradition?
DM - I always enjoy watching the warm-ups before an NHL game. Every player has his own little ritual and each team plays its own soundtrack for the skate. You can pick up some great songs just that way.
Dan, thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule as you are preparing for the upcoming season. Best of luck to you and the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2010-2011.
