Clark scouting for Senators

BELLEVILLE, Ont. -- Jim Clark is back in the National Hockey League.
The 54-year-old Summerside native recently joined the Ottawa Senators as a pro scout.
"Primarily I'll be watching a lot of National Hockey League games, a lot of American (Hockey) League games," explained Clark, who attended Tuesday night's Montreal Canadiens-Detroit Red Wings' pre-season game at the Bell Centre.
Clark, whose contract as assistant general manager and executive vice-president of the Columbus Blue Jackets expired July 1, recently signed a two-year deal with the Senators. He previously scouted for Ottawa general manager Bryan Murray with Florida and Detroit.
"I'm thrilled to be working for Bryan Murray again," said Clark. "He's a great person and, obviously, a very experienced hockey guy who's good to work with.
"I really enjoy watching the game and I really like watching the American League, too, watching the young kids who are going to become great players."
Clark, who admits the travel involved with scouting is very taxing, says his principal role is to be prepared for trades and become familiar with personnel on other teams.
"You also want to be familiar with players that will require waivers to be assigned to the minor leagues, and whether or not any of those guys being sent down by another team may be a fit for your organization to play for your big team," explained Clark. "Ultimately, in today's market place, because of a lowering of the (unrestricted) free-agent age of 27 years, more and more scouts are keeping an eye on prospective free agents, guys whose contracts are going to be up at the end of any given season and make sure they have a good handle on those guys as far as a possibility of signing them."

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