Utah NHL team asking unexpected question of draft prospects

Arizona Coyotes players celebrate their final home game before the franchise moves to Utah Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Utah NHL team asking unexpected question to assess character of draft prospects

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Jun 8, 2024 7:28 PM ET

Player interviews at pre-draft scouting combines can sometimes be a little off the wall. The questions can be weird, overly personal, invasive or just plain inappropriate or bizarre. But some NHL teams at this year's combine are getting a little creative with it.

The Colorado Avalanche, for example, are playing board games with prospects in an effort to get to know them.

But the winner for most interesting question might involve the attendees representing the NHL's Utah franchise (formerly the Arizona Coyotes), who are apparently asking draft prospects for their Uber passenger rating.

The Utah NHL franchise was asking draft prospects this week at the combine for their Uber passenger rating. I've heard some weird ones over the years, but this one is just puzzling.
— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) June 8, 2024

It is worth wondering how many Uber rides 17-and 18-year old kids might actually have, but it is an interesting question to get at least a little bit of a background into how a person treats others. If you are going to be rude to a driver that is opening their car up to you to provide you a service and do you a favor, there is a good chance you might be rude to people closer to you later in life.

It is also not overly invasive or digging into privacy issues.

As long as Utah's representative did not actually take the prospect's phones and were just accepting their word for it, it is a fascinating question.

Even more so because NHL players have had run-ins with taxi's and ride-sharing cars in the past. Patrick Kane got into a physical altercation with a Buffalo taxi driver more than a decade ago involving a dispute over-change, while several Ottawa Senators were players were caught bad-mouthing their coaches during an Uber trip in 2015.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

More must-reads: