About our Fantasy Scouts

Written by Dobber

DobberProspects has scouts around the world, focusing on a specific area of hockey. They have a keen eye on skill improvement, statistical trends and organizational depth charts. With dozens of leagues boasting top prospects, it's impossible for one person to keep an eye on everyone. But with focused scouting and analysis, most young guns can get the proper coverage.

Jason Banks calls the ‘Center of the Hockey Universe ‘(Toronto), home. An avid hockey fan who keeps up with many levels and leagues, you will find him in many rinks in the Central Ontario region during the season. Jason frequents games in the NHL, AHL, OHL and CWHL (Canadian Women’s Hockey League). When not working, he can be found on his laptop, watching European games, analyzing stats and reading, writing and talking about the sport. He enjoys opening up hockey fans to visit games at many levels in an effort to grow the game. Jason has found outlets for relaying his information and opinions by blogging, writing and analyzing stats for: The Marlies Booster Club, The Goalie Guild and of course DobberHockey.

Russ Bitely is a hockey enthusiast who fell in love with the game in 1980 after USA's "Miracle on Ice" in Lake Placid, NY. He played competitively for several years up through his collegiate career, and currently is coaching youth travel hockey in Rochester, NY area. Russ covers a variety of hockey topics as a writer for Examiner.com including NHL Prospects, college, junior and youth hockey. @Russbites

Jonathan Briggins is a recent grad from the University of King's College journalism program and is a freelance journalist based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. He does video work for Sportsandmoore.com covering the Halifax Mooseheads and QMJHL. A highlight this year was covering the CHL Top Prospects Game in Halifax. He has been participating in fantasy hockey 2003 when he would join leagues with people from his dad's work. Most of his writing is dedicated to covering the Canadian music scene and running the music blog thebrokenspeaker.com. He can be found on twitter @briggins.

Randy Buschmann has an extremely high passion for the sport of hockey and considers himself a seasoned veteran of hockey knowledge. He is obsessed with the NHL, and fantasy hockey has long been a deep-rooted addiction. A Tampa Bay Lightning fan since the very beginning, Buschmann has supported the team through the good times and the bad. Randy studied Criminal Justice and currently is working as a law enforcement officer. He is married and resides in the panhandle of Florida. Follow Randy on twitter @thehockeyhitman.

Eric Daoust is the first student to obtain a Masters degree in Computational Science at Laurentian University. Having a passion for the game since infancy, he has been involved in fantasy hockey since 2001, primarily in sim leagues. In addition to his role with DobberProspects, Eric covers the Montreal Canadiens within the Dobber Sports forum. You can find Eric on Twitter @DH_EricDaoust.

Rich Dillon is a veteran writer from Chicago, whose credits include numerous hockey and baseball blogs, websites, newsletters, and magazines. Dillon has been a contributor for McKeen’s Hockey Pool Yearbook, mckeenshockey.com, DobberBaseball.com, and mlbdepthcharts.com, and others. He was the fantasy hockey insider for the Rotisserie Sports Hour with Lenny Melnick radio show in New York. Dillon has also served as a scout for junior hockey teams. Follow him on Twitter @RichDillon17

Alain Dube's first introduction to hockey was with the "Broadstreet Bullies" of the 1970's. After seeing Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber and Bernie Parent winning the Stanley Cup he was hooked. A Sens fan from day one, he has felt highs (Alfie's OT winner versus Buffalo in 2007) and lows (Daigle, Yashin holdouts and all those Playoff losses to the Maple Leafs) of his hometown franchise. His love for Hockey Pools and Stats came at an early age, competing against friends in playoff drafts at the tender age of 12 - his passion for keeper pools and thirst for finding hidden gems has come over the last 15 years where he competes in a 12 team Keeper Pool. . Follow Alain on Twitter @gades99.

Sam Friedman is a recent graduate of York University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Anthropology and is in the process of pursuing a graduate degree in journalism. Sam currently writes for an uncensored sports commentary website sportingmaniac. Friedman is a very passionate sports fan, enthusiast and writer. He is always open to new opportunities and experiences. You can find Friedman on twitter @SamDFriedman or via his blog where he is frequently updating sports news and providing opinions.

An avid Sharks follower, Tim Graveline became a fan of hockey, in the central valley of California, during the roller hockey boom. Next thing you know, he started playing goalie in Ice Hockey travel leagues. He has loved the game and talent ever since. Tim joins the DobberProspects crew with a focus on the AHL. He can be found on twitter @tsgraveline.

Zenon Herasymiuk, our scouting prodigy, started with DobberProspects as a high school student in Calgary, AB. After graduation he plans on studying Business at the University of Calgary. He has been a passionate hockey fan for years and has been scouting and evaluating players as long as he can remember. His love for the game has also taken him all over Western Canada to cover such events as the 2012 WJC as well as the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. Zenon also scouts draft eligible prospects for Future Considerations Hockey and Hockeysense.ca. You can follow him on twitter @ZenonHerasymiuk.

Ryan Holmer is a Finance major from Ryerson University's Ted Rogers School of Management. He's 21 years old, and play AAA hockey for 2 years before

damaging his back, forcing him out of playing. He runs his own scouting service, and is very familiar with prospects, and hockey in general. Aside from prospects, he is also very familiar with the CBA, hockey law and Finances.

An Avalanche Fan since he was eight, Nathan Kanter is completing a four-year undergraduate collaborative program between Western University and Fanshawe College for both media studies and television broadcasting (with an emphasis on sports). The sport of hockey surrounds Nathan's life as he has officiated for five years and played for 13. Nathan has also written on the Mustangs CIS hockey team for the Western Gazette and provided insight as a colour commentator for them on MustangsTV. However, it is fantasy hockey that takes up most of his time. Nathan takes pride in knowing about the next prospect before everyone else in order to help his dynasty teams stay one step ahead of everyone else. Follow him on twitter @NathanKanter11.

Nathan Martin is a passionate hockey fan with a background in journalism. Originally from Ottawa, Nathan has a degree in Media Studies from Guelph University as well as a diploma of Journalism from Humber College. While attending school, Nathan held the position of Sports Editor at both the Guelph-Humber Radix (newspaper) and the GH Beat (newscast). Nathan has been playing hockey since the age of four and hopes to pursue a career in sports journalism. Catch Nathan on twitter @Martin4x6.

Pete Richmere began covering hockey several years ago on his sports talk show "The Sideline" on KLAY 1180 AM in Seattle/Tacoma. His main focus was on the Seattle Thunderbirds and the Vancouver Canucks. Pete has been following hockey since the coach of the T-Birds, Steve Konowalchuk was a player for the Portland Winterhawks. Aside from having hosted talk shows on KLAY and KKNW 1150 AM, Richmire is active in the movement underway to bring the NHL to the Seattle market. Follow him on twitter at @prichmire.

Brendan Ross completed a Honours BA in Kinesiology from Wilfrid Laurier University and a B.Ed from the University of Western Ontario. "Rossy" is a long time prospect columnist for DobberHockey and now resides near Sarnia, Ontario along the shores of the Canadian-U.S.A border with his wife and dog. You will find Brendan teaching throughout high schools in Southwestern Ontario. The sport of hockey is the passion that drives him, and if he's not playing the sport or officiating the sport then he is certainly writing about it. You can contact Brendan via twitter @rossyyoungblood.

Andrew Schopp is an aspiring hockey journalist born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. Completed a BA in Political Science from Dalhousie University and interns at The Hockey News magazine. Lives and breathes hockey. Follow Andrew on Twitter @AZSchopp.

Andrew Ward is a 27 year old father, husband, professional photographer and Colorado native. Growing up an Avalanche fan, he has been lucky enough to watch some of his generations superstars on the ice. Having matured into a true fan of the game, Andrew has a great appreciation for all aspects of hockey; from juniors, NCAA, to farm teams, all the way up to the big clubs. He spends most of his time researching prospects, tracking player development and stats, and watching all the hockey he can with his two year old son and very understanding wife. Andrew brings honest perspective to fantasy hockey, an obsessive attitude towards keepers and sleepers, the occasional gamble, and a natural instinct for predicting the next big thing. Find Andrew everyday on twitter @awardavs.

Travis Watson graduated from the Fitness and Health Promotion program at Fanshawe College obtaining his Certified Personal Trainer Certification from CSEP (Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology) in the process. Growing up in a small town of Mitchell not far from his current residency in London, Ontario Travis was able to grow up playing numerous sports and was lucky enough to play hockey at the Junior level for his hometown Mitchell Hawks. With his indulgence of sports growing up came the passion to join the fantasy ranks where he has been an avid manager in numerous fantasy sports leagues. When he is not working or playing sports, he is online reading, scouting, watching video or checking out live sporting events. Follow Travis on Twitter @Twatson12.

Kevin Won, a native of Fort McMurray, AB, is a hockey enthusiast who is also an aspiring video game composer currently studying music at the University of Western Ontario in London, ON. Fantasy hockey has turned into an everyday lifestyle since his first fantasy hockey exposure in 2006 and he is constantly reading up on the latest prospects and compiling statistics in his free time. During the summers, he organizes community drop-in ball hockey games near his home in Calgary, AB. Along with music, scouting has always been a passion for Kevin. You can find Kevin on his music channel “Resonaga” on Youtube or on Twitter @Flamestalker.