Blades scout recovering after high-speed collision

The journey of a hockey scout can be a draining process, and it often means living life on the road.

The job means countless hours spent driving on highways trying to make it to the next game or tournament in the quest to find hockey’s next prospect. That means it can also be dangerous, and that became a reality for Dan Tencer, the Saskatoon Blades’ director of scouting, during a trip through Alberta.

Dan Tencer. (Saskatoon Blades/Twitter)

On March 22, Tencer was in a car accident on the Queen Elizabeth II Highway on his way to a bantam tournament.

“His car was basically totalled – his truck – and he was hit at 110 km/h from sliding on the ice,” general manager Colin Priestner said after posting about the incident on Twitter the following day.

Priestner said he and Tencer have known each other for the past 20 years. They met while they were in school at the University of Alberta and bonded over their passion for hockey.

Tencer – along with the other people involved – was luckily able to walk away from the accident with just bruises and minor injuries.

“He was extremely concerned about the other drivers in the accident, to make sure they were OK, and he got the good news from the RCMP that everybody involved in the accident are all OK,” Priestner said.

It could have ended a lot worse. Priestner said doctors told Tencer he was just two inches away from suffering more serious injuries, which could have been catastrophic.

Priestner, who also travels a lot to view players for the team, said it can be tough to do so much travelling during the winter months when road conditions can be unpredictable.

“We’ll be driving three or four hours sometimes to watch a single player, and you’re kind of white-knuckling it if the roads are bad or it’s -30, and you’re just staying extremely focused on the road, trying to stay safe,” he said.

Priestner said it can be tough knowing that he has seven or eight other scouts also on the road in similar conditions across Canada, but he noted that the scouting community is a very tight-knit group and they all try and look out for each other.

“It’s part of the job. There’s no other way to get to these markets (besides) driving to who knows where. You might be three hours outside of Winnipeg watching a player who’s from a small town in Manitoba,” Priestner added.

Moving into warmer months, the stress from road conditions does decrease, but after this accident Priestner said his worries about something happening to his scouts on the road is at the top of his mind.

Tencer and Priestner were able to get together for dinner last week. Priestner said his head scout is doing well, but is still getting through some of the shock of the accident.