Even back when he was just a former lawyer whose uncle Bob was about to become the mayor of Ottawa, Peter Chiarelli had an eye for identifying hockey talent. After he was hired by the Ottawa Senators in 1999 to be their director of legal affairs, Chiarelli wanted an opportunity to scout talent too. And when he got the opportunity, he impressed his colleagues.
"At that time he wasn't really involved in hockey decisions," said Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, who worked in Ottawa's front office alongside Chiarelli. "Right away, when you read his reports, you could tell that he was a very good hockey evaluator.