Seattle expansion team hires first female pro scout Cammi Granato

Seattle is building a strong team with 5 new members on board!

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Published 4 years ago
Seattle expansion team hires first female pro scout Cammi Granato
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The NHL’s Seattle expansion franchise hired Hockey Hall of Famer Cammi Granato as the first female pro scout in the league Wednesday.

The team made the announcement that Granato will join Ulf Samuelsson, Stu Barnes, Dave Hunter and John Goodwin as pro scouts in working under GM Ron Francis and Assistant General Manager Ricky Olczyk, who were previously hired by the franchise.

This is exciting news for the expansion team and for the Olympic gold medalist with Team USA in 1998 and silver medalist in Salt Lake City in 2002. 

“I’ve had other NHL opportunities to get back into hockey,” said Granato.”Seattle is the right fit for me and an exciting organization to join. It lined up as the perfect opportunity.”
“When I was being interviewed, it was very apparent this organization was thinking outside the box,” Francis said, per ESPN. “When I took the job, I was encouraged to continue that mantra: think outside the box. Cammi’s name came up. I know she’s a female pro scout for us, but her résumé is why she got the job -not because she’s female.”


“It’s fantastic to add our first five scouts to the team and, as we think ahead to the 2021 Expansion Draft, their roles will be key,” Francis added. “This group has such phenomenal hockey experience.”

Samuelsson, who played  in 1,080 NHL games during his career, spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks. He will be based in San Diego. 

Barnes is a veteran of 1,136 NHL games who recently served as an assistant coach with the Dallas Stars. He will remain in the Dallas area.

According to the team release, Hunter has a decade of pro and amateur scouting experience and will be based in the Boston area. 

Goodwin spent three seasons as head coach of the Oshawa Generals from 1997-2000 and most recently spent two years as an assistant coach with the Kingston Frontenacs from 2014-16. He will be based in Toronto. 

The 32nd NHL expansion team will begin play during the 2021-22 season.

Source: Twitter