Scout's notebook: Three draft-eligible standouts from the first weeks of the season

Although the scouting season hasn't properly kicked into gear in North America, all of the major professional and junior leagues have already started in Europe. Some leagues have only played a couple of rounds of games, other have been running since the start of September.

As a talent evaluator, balancing your viewings throughout the season is a difficult and imperfect science. The first few weeks of the season can often deceive. Some players haven't yet acclimated to their new team or league, others will have blazing starts when everyone is still trying to figure things out. 

Still, I'd argue that these games have value. They can be useful for calibrating your expectations for the season and trying to fish out which players are going to be worthy to monitor more closely as the season progre