The Blackhawks have engineered a few draft steals in recent years, finding talented young players in the latter rounds, some of whom have already made an impact at the NHL level. What often goes unnoticed, however, is the work that the organization’s amateur scouts put in year-round to identify, track and evaluate these prospects, so that Vice President/General Manager Stan Bowman and Senior Director of Amateur Scouting Mark Kelley are completely prepared to make their selections on draft day. One of those scouts is Jim McKellar, who joined the organization in the 2010-11 season and is responsible for surveying the Ontario Hockey League.

“Early in the season, you’re watching everybody to see who pops out and catches your eye,” McKellar says of the basic process. “You’re narrowing that focus on players you really like as the year goes on, but continuing to watch other guys.”

One player McKellar zeroed in on was Andrew Shaw, who at that point had already passed through two drafts, untouched by all 30 NHL teams. Of course, Blackhawks fans know the rest—from his stellar start in the NHL to his gritty, shinpads-and-stitches performance during the 2013 Stanley Cup run. As the 2014 Draft approaches, chicagoblackhawks.com caught up with McKellar to get his reflections on the Blackhawks' selection of Shaw.

When did you first see Andrew Shaw play, and what was your first impression of him on the ice?

The first time I saw him was probably two years before we drafted him. I wasn’t even working for the Blackhawks at the time; Andrew was playing for Niagara, and I was working for the London Knights. He was a first-year player in the OHL, and to me he was really competitive, feisty and determined, and he competed very hard.

My first year with the Blackhawks was Andrew’s third year in the OHL, the year we drafted him. I had seen him for a couple of years, so I got to see this competitive and determined kid grow and develop. He kept finding your eye; that’s a tribute to him, how hard he worked to get better and get noticed.

Looking at his stats over the two seasons he played at Niagara, it seemed like he was more of a scrapper than a scorer, always racking up more penalty minutes than points. Did that perceived role affect how teams might have evaluated him leading up to those first two drafts?

Knowing Andrew, the way he is with us now is certainly the way he’s been in his career. When he came into the OHL, he was so determined to get a spot and earn ice time, he did whatever it took. It’s the same kind of thing he’s done with us at development camp, in Rockford and after he came up to Chicago. Every year he went into hockey, he wanted to be a better player than he was the year before, and he would do whatever it takes to make that happen. The sky’s the limit for him, really.