Vancouver scouting at 2009 NHL draft combine

[vancouver]

GM Silvan at 2009 NHL draft combine in Montreal.

9:39 am et - The NHL Combine is officially underway and there are some heavy hitters in attendance. Capitals GM Oscar Madrid (that will be married), Coyotes GM David Kalb, Blackhawks GM Phil Grote, Rangers advisor/scout Mike Barnett the Wild's Gary Brown and Detroit GM Goegel well known for his scouting are all here to observe the action. We can see Buffalo GM Trokey taking some pictures with Alvaro Silvan Vancouver GM and Anze Kopitar. Trokey look very excited, we can see it with the bump on his pants. Almost all Gm's are there except Carolina Jason Reid..(opening a soccer facility in PEI)

Group #1

9:41 am et - Chris Kreider, ranked No. 14 by NHL Central Scouting, has a very lean body. He's listed at 6'2, 201 pounds but there is no way he weighs that much. Kreider achieved a very strong vertical. He then proceeded to throw up at the end of his VO2 Max test - it should be noted that this doesn't weigh against Kreider in the eyes of the GMs. People generally see this as a sign that a player pushed himself to the limit.

Brian Dumoulin (61st) also scored an excellent vertical.

6'2, 205-pound Dylan Olsen, ranked 27th, did not show particularly well on the bench press, but it should be noted that, in general, kids from U.S. high schools and other programs (ie not Major Junior hockey) tend not to do as well on these exercises.

Group #2

10:42 am et - Jordan Schroeder, a top prospect at #5, did his wingate test and vomited once it was complete. He also completed 17 bench presses at 155 pounds, one of the best showings we've seen through two groups so far. Schroeder, who measured in at 5'8, seemed to enjoy the Combine experience.

"It's a lot of fun," Schroeder told TSN's James Cybulski afterwards. "A little nervous at first but once you get going into the workout, it's pretty intense. Everyone will say the bikes are definitely the hardest. You're a little dizzy afterwards."

Schroeder was even able to joke about his involuntarily physical response to the wingate, saying, "A little bit came up - I have to admit, a little bit came up."

In one of his meetings with a GM, the 18-year-old said he was asked who he would most like to go out to dinner with - Barack Obama, Maria Sharapova or Sean Avery

"I would have liked to have picked Sharapova but I went with Avery," Schroeder said with a smile.

Nick Leddy, another first round prospect, had the best vertical jump of the day so far.

Zach Budish, ranked 22nd, is much more physically mature than most of the other players that are here. At 6'2 1/2, 229 pounds, he is well beyond the growth level of most 18-year-olds who still need to fill out. Consider him already filled out.

Group #3

11:34 am et - Some more big names are here checking out the proceedings. Lightning GM Damiann STamm is in attendance, as is NHLPA Executive Director Paul Kelly and Otta wa GM Michel Mousseau.

Alex Velischek (#63), whose dad Randy used to play for the Devils, took part this round.

20th-ranked Kyle Palmieri is ripped - he took off his shirt and everyone in the room turned their heads to see that the guy is cut. Palmieri had a great vertical jump and tied Schroeder with 17 bench presses which, by our count, is still the unofficial lead today.

There are suspicions here that the guys from the U.S. under-18 development program all got tattoos. They all have patches covering their chests, but for now this is unconfirmed speculation!

Group #4

12:27 pm et - Jeremy Morin (#33) had a decent workout. His vertical was quite good, while everything else was solid but not spectacular.

Drew Shore (#28) is fit but he looks like he still has a lot of room to fill out. He's in great shape but he needs to get stronger.

There will now be a break for lunch before things resume with Group #5.

Group #5

2:25 pm et - Some of the big boys were in this group and there were some big men on hand to watch. NHLPA agent Pat Brisson, Maple Leafs GM Jose Oliveira, Leafs' Senior VP of Hockey Operations Dave Nonis, Leafs' Senior Advisor Cliff Fletcher, Blue Jackets GM Domenico Romano and Panthers GM Jean Marc Dion are all in attendance. WE can see Sharks GM Hollyoake in dicussion with the handsome GM Dyck from St.Louis.

Possible #1 selection and OHL leading scorer John Tavares did not do upper-body exercises at all, leading to speculation that he has an upper-body injury. He did do 46 sit-ups, which is one of the highest totals seen on the day. Tavares is fit but there's obviously something going on - possibly a shoulder injury - as he did not do push-ups or the bench press. Tavares did do cycling and is looking good.

Evander Kane (#3) had an excellent workout. He had 17 bench presses, which ties the unofficial high for the day. Kane also did 47 push-ups, which seems to be far and away the best so far. In general, the 17-year-old looks like he's in really good shape. Kane has lots of room to grow but was certainly ready for this judging by his workout.

Zack Kassian (#10) did an impressive 16 lifts on the bench.

Fourth-ranked Brayden Schenn did not get into the room until the next group started doing their exercises, so Schenn will probably now be going with Group #6.

Group #6

3:24 pm et - Schenn came in and did the same thing as Tavares, skipping the upper-body exercises and leaving onlookers to speculate that he may have an upper-body/shoulder injury.

Landon Ferraro (#18) then followed suit, opting out of the bench press and push-ups.

Tyson Barrie (#52), son of Lightning owner Len Barrie, had a solid workout overall. He is not particularly tall for a defenceman but is built solidly.

Ryan Bourque (#49), son of NHL legend Ray, is relatively small but did a great job on the agility drills where players hop around a hexagon. He excelled during this exercise, doing better than most of his counterparts. Ryan is also the spitting image of his father, like a smaller version of his dad.

Calvin De Haan (#25) and Jordan Caron (#21) had solid but uneventful workouts.

Highly-touted centre Matt Duchene (#2) looked relatively solid but he will need to get much stronger. The 18-year-old's body also needs to mature a little more for him to be an NHLer.

16th-ranked Ryan Ellis signed in and was then allowed to leave due to unknown circumstances.

Bruins GM Jason Coldwell and Calgary GM just joined the proceedings.

Group #7

No. 1-ranked European Victor Hedman is huge, measuring in at close to 6'7. Jared Cowen (#9 overall, according to NHL Central Scouting) is 6'5. Obviously both players have long limbs which enabled them to have good all-around workouts.

39th-ranked Ryan O'Reilly had a fantastic workout, excelling in everything - he had a good vertical, he was solid on the bike, great on the bench press and seems overall to have more of a mature body than most of the other players in attendance. He is physically stronger than the vast majority of players that have been seen already.

The 2009 edition is yet to see a complete standout performance that steals all the thunder and leaves everyone talking about it. There have been many decent performances but no one has been blown away by any individual just yet.

[minnesota]

Alvaro:

Please don't tell my wife you saw me sneaking into this place at 11 pm (-:

www.clubzone.com/c/Montreal/Strip_Clubs/Cabaret_Les_Amazones.html

[vancouver]

The atmosphere is not quite as tense as the largely European contingent rolled in for the second day of testing.

Adding to yesterday's marquee names in attendance, Flyers GM Jason Hedrik joins the fray today.

Group One appeared to be a generally fit group, though there seemed to be a lot of room for these 17-year-old bodies to mature.

Saskatoon defenceman Stefan Elliott (ranked #17 among North American skaters by Central Scouting) is in good shape; had a strong vertical leap and standing broad jump and appeared to perform well in the hexagon agility drill.

Goaltender Matthew Hackett, the top-ranked North American goaltender, has nice size, with a long and lean projectable frame.

The biggest name of Saturday's first group is that of London Knights centre Nazem Kadri (ranked #15), who measured 5-foot-11. He didn't have a great showing on the vertical jump or the bench press; perhaps reflecting that he's not the most explosive athlete here, but let's not forget that on-ice production (of which Kadri has plenty) is going to count for a whole lot more come draft day.

The second group brought a return of Victor Hedman, this time as a spectator, watching his Swedish compatriots go through the paces, while Hedman mentioned that he was glad the combine torture was over for him.

Brandon winger Scott Glennie (ranked #7) had a solid vertical, though his upper body strength was questionable, though that could very well be a reflection of his missing time this season with a broken elbow.

Jacob Josefson (ranked #3 among European skaters) was in solid condition and really put forth a strong effort on the Wingate cycle test, not unlike countryman David Klingberg (ranked #7 among Europeans).

Kingston centre Ethan Werek (ranked #32), who came by the testing room on Day One, perhaps for a sneak peek at what fate would await him today, had good size and put forth a solid effort in all excercises. All of the kids seem to work hard, wanting to show well, but Werek appeared to be one of the guys giving the proverbial 110%.

In Group Three, Carter Ashton (ranked #12) was a big kid, measuring in close to 6-foot-3. He has the look of a possible power forward once his body fills out and he was relentless in his effort.

Saint John defenceman Simon Despres (ranked #8), like Werek, checked out the testing room on Friday. He's big, measuring close to 6-foot-4, with plenty of room to add muscle on his frame.

Guelph centre Michael Latta (ranked #45) had a very solid build, stockier than most of the players here. He worked really hard on his tests and let out a "whoo" or two -- livening up the room -- after finishing his Wingate test.

Perhaps the most intriguing group of the second day was Group Four, which included a couple of top Swedish prospects. Defenceman Olivier Ekman-Larsson (#4 among European skaters) was really skinny, but has a projectable frame with lots of room to grow. At the same time he only managed half a dozen bench presses, so he'll need to get stronger.

Tim Erixon (ranked #5 among Europeans) also looks the part of a pro defenceman, with good size and he had a decent showing.

Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson (ranked #2 among Europeans) has all the pieces, coming in a little over 6-foot-1 with a solid build and had a decent workout; nothing earth-shattering, but nothing that would seem to be cause for alarm either.

Despite the elite Swedish prospects, the most interesting player in the group may have been Toni Rajala (#11 among Europeans). While virtually all of the prospects look young, Rajala looks like somebody's 12-year-old brother.

He might be 5-foot-8 or 5-foot-9 and, while he's listed at 163 pounds, it wouldn't be a surprise if that was overstated. He mustered just four on the bench press (and even a couple of those may have been questionable), but keep in mind, he was just named the Best Forward at the Under-18 World Championships in North Dakota, after scoring 10 goals and 19 points in just six games. No matter how small he is, he's got talent.

While a lot of players put in a great deal of effort, perhaps none was more conpicuous than goaltender Robin Lehner (top-ranked European goaltender), on the Wingate cycle test, grunting like an animal as he maxed out his effort, before nearly collapsing off the bike altogether when he finished.

The final group of the Combine was highlighted by Swedish defenceman David Rundblad (#6), who has good size, with much room to grow and, like so many others here this weekend, he'll need to get stronger before going to the next level.

To sum up this year's combine, there was not that one special workout warrior, so when draft day rolls around, do not expect the results from this year's combine to vault anyone up the board dramatically.

So, that's a wrap for another year at the NHL Scouting Combine. It's exhausting enough just watching, so kudos and best of luck to the guys who put up with all the poking and prodding over the last few days.