About

Alexander Appleyard, Amateur Scout

Alexander Appleyard is a British sports journalist who for the last two years has split his time between Scandinavia and England.

He has covered the Philadelphia Flyers for The Athletic for the past three years, specializing in prospect coverage. Before that he wrote for Sons of Penn and Along the Board/Pucks and Recreation, where he provided analytically driven content alongside prospect reporting.

His passion for scouting centers around European prospects, with an onus on Sweden. Outside of hockey journalism he works in the grassroots sport and physical activity sector.

If you would like to follow Alexander Appleyard on Twitter, his handle is @avappleyard.

Matthew Somma, Amateur Scout

Matthew Somma is a hockey writer from Raleigh, North Carolina. 

He has been a lifelong Carolina Hurricanes fan and has been writing about hockey prospects for five years. Matthew co-founded Calm Before the Storm, a hockey site for amateur hockey writers and has since written scouting reports as a freelancer as well as for Canes Country. Matthew’s work has been primarily focused on Hurricanes prospects as well as draft-eligible skaters. 
Outside of hockey, Matthew works in marketing and is getting married in the spring of 2022. 

If you would like to follow Matthew Somma on Twitter, his handle is @mattsomma12.

Sebastian Jackson, Amateur Scout

Sebastian Jackson is a hockey writer who currently resides in Owen Sound, Ontario

In season’s prior, Sebastian has covered the Ontario Hockey League notably the Owen Sound Attack, Kitchener Rangers and the Mississauga Steelheads as well as the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League where he provided game reports, trade articles and much more content. 

Other off-ice work that he has been involved in, Sebastian was the Vice President and Assistant General Manager of a Provincial Junior Hockey League team in Ontario and a regional scout for many others. 

Currently residing in Owen Sound, Ontario, Sebastian is a proud husband to Felicia and father to little 2-year-old Sophia. When not at the rink, Sebastian is a cook by day and studying to be a real estate agent by night. 

Sebastian is going to provide the Smaht Scouting world with scouting reports from the Ontario Hockey League and other various junior hockey leagues in Ontario. 

If you would like to follow Sebastian Jackson on Twitter, his handle is @SebJackson90.

Mike Wright, Amateur Scout

Mike Wright is an amateur scout who currently resides in Chatham, Ontario.

He will focus on prospects currently playing in the Ontario Hockey League and in The United States Hockey League.

Mike is the nephew of Ed Wright, the first black Hockey coach in NCAA history and the first black scout in NHL history when he joined the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in 1994. Outside of hockey, Mike is happily married to his wife Leslie, and together they have two children.

If you would like to follow Mike Wright on Twitter, his handle is @79wrightM.

Tobias Pettersson, Amateur Scout

Tobias Pettersson is a Sweden based scout. He is part of the European Crossover scouting team. Tobbe previously wrote for HockeyNews.se and The Prospect Network. When he is not scouting, you can find him on Twitter talking about his New York Rangers and Manchester United.

If you would like to follow Tobias Pettersson on Twitter, his handle is @ManUtdTobbe.

Jordan Malette, Amateur Scout

Jordan Malette is a hockey coach/amateur scout from Ottawa, Ontario. He graduated from the University of Ottawa in 2016 with a Bachelor of Commerce.

Since the 2016-17 season, Jordan has been working with the Ottawa Jr. Senators of the CCHL as an assistant and video coach for their U18 AAA club. His focus has been on preparing elite young players for the next steps in their hockey careers.

Jordan will be working on draft coverage for the region of Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec.  

If you would like to follow Jordan Malette on Twitter, his handle is @jordanmalette.

Cary Foo, Amateur Scout

Cary Foo is a master’s student at Brock University studying Community Sport and Recreation. Cary is currently a communications intern for the Mississauga Steelheads Hockey Club.

Growing up in Mississauga, Ontario hockey played a significant role in Cary’s life. Attending hockey games was very accessible and convenient given the location of Mississauga and the GTA. Cary’s attendance at numerous Steelheads and other OHL games not only fueled his love for the game but really inspired Cary to pursue a career in sports and focus on identifying innovative strategies to propel the sport of hockey forward.

During his fourth year of undergraduate studies, Cary had the opportunity to work as a communications intern with the Steelheads organization. Cary wrote rookie articles for emerging players, offering keen analysis of noteworthy season highlights, and providing an outlook for the upcoming season.

Cary will be joining the Smaht team as a North American crossover scout concentrating on the OHL, QMJHL and USHL. Outside scouting Cary enjoys playing hockey going for hikes and cheering on his beloved Flyers.

Austin Garret, Amateur Scout

Austin is a Buffalo Sabres fanatic and has been writing about the NHL Draft for Die By the Blade since 2015.

He specializes in NCAA and US-based hockey but pre-COVID spent many a night in Southern Ontario scouting the OHL.

Currently residing in Western New York where he parents a Dmitri Rashevsky Super Fan as well as two other young ones with his wife.

If you want to follow Austin on Twitter, his handle is @BMaster716.

Ben Jordan, Amateur Scout

Ben Jordan, currently pursuing a business degree at Wilfrid Laurier University, in Waterloo, Ontario embodies everything it means to be a hockey fan in the great white north. Growing up in Toronto he spent his youth on the outdoor rinks during the day, and in front of the TV at night watching his beloved, hometown Maple Leafs. But above all reigns his love for the game of hockey and all that it entails. Ever since his playing days came to an end, scouting was a way to stay uber connected with the game. Ben has spent time in and around the GTA, scouting leagues like the GTHL and SCTA, watching many players blossom at the CHL level and beyond. Working within an NHL organization as a scout is one of Ben’s many ambitions. He’ll be covering the OHL and the WHL for us this draft season!

If you want to follow Ben on Twitter, his handle is @BJordanNHL.

Gray Matter, Amateur Scout

Gray lives in Montréal and has been a hockey fanatic all his life. He enjoys keeping an eye on prospects, seeing what they each bring to the game, and watching them bloom into great NHL players.

He looks forward to bringing his insights and perspectives to the team.

Gray will be focused on prospects in Finland & Russia.

If you want to follow Gray on Twitter, his handle is @Grismatter.

Colin Macdonald, Amateur Scout

Colin ‘Spoked Z’ Macdonald is a hockey writer/amateur scout who currently resides in Boston, MA. 

Before joining Smaht Scouting, Colin had focused primarily on the Minnesota Wild prospect pool. He reports on those prospects in conjunction with The Sota Pod podcast, featuring as the show’s Friday segment ‘Judd’z Budz.’ 

In his new role with Smaht Scouting, Colin will be focusing on NHL Draft prospects based out of Sweden. He looks forward to bringing his insight to the team & (hopefully) creating a bit more buzz around some of the lesser-known/under-appreciated prospects in the Swedish junior ranks. 

If you would like to follow Colin on Twitter, his handle is @spokedz.