Welcome to Focused Scouting

You are invited to delve into the sport of hockey through the eyes of Nicholas Tropper, and follow his insights throughout his professional development.

This site will serve as a platform for the insights, opinions, and observations of this independent hockey scout. It will feature prospect reports and hockey analysis by drawing on Nicholas’ experience and expertise. Using the Focused Scouting approach, Nicholas will offer the reader in-depth analysis that goes beyond the numbers, and truly incorporates the deepest facets of the sport.

Focused Scouting is a one-person operation. Despite his still being in University, Nicholas is thoroughly engaged in the hockey community. He revels in our ever expanding understanding of the game and the human experiences that make it so meaningful. He is determined to succeed in the industry. To do so, he is committed to sharing views and commentary in order to shine a light on hockey’s future stars.

For Nicholas, it is a manner of storing and sharing opinions in a time-stamped manner, in order to continually assess performance and quality of work. While it is a way to receive acknowledgement for accurate projections and discoveries, it will also be a way to improve by evaluating prior projections. Continually assessing one’s performance is a crucial part of achieving success.

A more “Focused” goal is to engage with hockey professionals and serious amateurs so as to ultimately further appreciate an extraordinary team-sport! Nicholas hopes to contribute in his own way to the evolution of the sport and make is mark on the hockey community.

About Nicholas Tropper

Nicholas Tropper is an independent hockey scout presently based out of St. Catharines, Ontario, with a longstanding passion for scouting and player development. Nicholas is opinionated, determined, and has a passion for the on and off ice components of hockey that is equaled by few.

Nicholas grew up in Cornwall, Ontario, where hockey defines this formerly industrial city’s identity in many ways. The sport transcends the city’s culture. All age groups are actively involved it the city’s hockey community. Nicholas was able to participate in minor hockey as well as men’s league hockey, and these experiences largely contributed to motivating him to pursue a career in the hockey industry. The city hosted a Major Junior franchise that launched players such as Doug Gilmour, Dale Hawerchuk, and Billy Smith. It also briefly hosted an American Hockey League (AHL) franchise, that served as affiliate for the Quebec Nordiques and Colorado Avalanche.

Nicholas currently studies Sport Management at Brock University in order to supplement the knowledge acquired through personal experience with a formal education. Previously, Nicholas obtained a college diploma in Police Foundations, but has ultimately chosen to follow his passion for hockey.

Nicholas’ insights and understanding of the sport stem from the experience he has acquired. He has participated in organized competition from a young age. He then went on to organizing recreational men’s hockey teams for leagues and tournaments. He has volunteered in the hockey community, at the minor league level and in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). More recently he has consulted in scouting in the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH) and has been scouting independently. This website serves as a platform for Nicholas to utilize his experience to analyze current players and matters and share his insights.