25 WHL Players Off To NHL Draft Combine

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Courtesy Saskatoon Blades Hockey Club:


Toronto, ON – 25 WHL players are among 107 of the top 2008 draft-eligible players in the world gathering in Toronto, ON, this week for the NHL’s Draft Combine.

The event, which will host 107 of the best draft-eligible players from North America and Europe, will see the players put through a vigorous round of physical, medical and psychological tests that could determine where they are chosen when the teams convene in Ottawa on June 20-21.

"The Scouting Combine is designed to bring together in one spot, in an economical move, and Central Scouting has been charged with that mission … the League GMs say bring your top 100 rated players to one spot and then we'll get a crack at them," said E.J. McGuire, director of Central Scouting.

Four of the 25 WHL players attending the NHL Draft Combine have been ranked among the top 10 domestic draft-eligible skaters by NHL Central Scouting in their final rankings.

Kelowna defensemen Tyler Myers and Luke Schenn – ranked no. 4 and 5, respectively, by NHL Central Scouting – are two of four Rockets who are attending the event. Forwards Colin Long and Brandon McMillan are also participating in the Conbine.

Everett Silvertips’ power forward Kyle Beach and Lethbridge Hurricanes sniper Zach Boychuk are the other two WHL players ranked among the top 10 domestic skaters who will attend the Combine. Beach is ranked seventh while Boychuk sits eighth.

Tri-City Americans goaltender Chet Pickard is one of three WHL netminders among the 10 goalies attending the NHL Draft Combine. Pickard, the 2008 WHL and CHL Goaltender of the Year, is ranked second among domestic draft-eligible goaltenders heading into the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

WHL Players Attending the 2008 NHL Draft Combine: Name; Pos; B-day; WHL Club

Kyle Beach; C; January 13, 1990; Everett Silvertips
Lance Bouma; C; March 25, 1990; Vancouver Giants
Zach Boychuk; C; October 4, 1989; Lethbridge Hurricanes
Joel Broda; C; November 24, 1989; Moose Jaw Warriors
Matt Calvert; LW; December 24, 1989; Brandon Wheat Kings
Jacob DeSerres; G; March 18, 1990; Seattle Thunderbirds
Jordan Eberle; C; May 15, 1990; Regina Pats
Tyler Ennis; C; October 6, 1989; Medicine Hat Tigers
Travis Hamonic; D; August 16, 1990; Moose Jaw Warriors
Braden Holtby; G; September 16, 1989; Saskatoon Blades
Colin Long; C; June 19, 1989; Kelowna Rockets
Brandon McMillan; C; March 22, 1990; Kelowna Rockets
Eric Mestery; D; May 28, 1990; Tri-City Americans
Tyler Myers; D; February 1, 1990; Kelowna Rockets
Jyri Niemi; D; June 15, 1990; Saskatoon Blades
Chet Pickard; G; November 29, 1989; Tri-City Americans
Kruise Reddick; C; July 6, 1990; Tri-City Americans
Colby Robak; D; April 24, 1990; Brandon Wheat Kings
Luca Sbisa; D; January 30, 1990; Lethbridge Hurricanes
Luke Schenn; D; November 2, 1989; Kelowna Rockets
Michael Stone; D; June 7, 1990; Calgary Hitmen
Colten Teubert; D; March 8, 1990; Regina Pats
Mitch Wahl; C; January 22, 1990; Spokane Chiefs
James Wright; C; March 24, 1990; Vancouver Giants
Geordie Wudrick; LW; April 9, 1990; Swift Current Broncos



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For the players, the tough part was surviving the grueling challenges laid out before them.

After a routine medical exam, players had their height, weight, wingspan and body fat measured. After that, it was a turn through a series of strength tests that measured players’ upper body and grip strengths. Their vertical leap also was measured.

Next was an agility station, which included balancing on a board laid across a ball cut in half.

The hardest parts were saved for last – a pair of bike rides that took the draft prospects on a trip to the end of their own personal physical limits, and sometimes beyond.

The twin nightmares were the Wingate Cycle Ergometer test, which measures anaerobic fitness, followed by the VO2 Max test, which measures aerobic endurance.

The first part of the dual stationary bike tests was the Wingate, which lasts about five minutes, but concludes with a brutal, 30-second all-out sprint, with trainers screaming in the players’ ears to implore them to pedal as fast and as hard as they could. The screaming could be heard 50 feet outside the ballroom.

“I was thinking I wished they would shut up,” said Guelph Storm netminder Thomas McCollum, the top-ranked North American goalie.

Most of the players finished the test and collapsed on chairs set up nearby, while others just fell right to the floor. A number became physically ill.

After about a 10-minute break, the players were back on a different set of bikes. This time, a mouthpiece was used to measure the amount of oxygen going in and out of their bodies to determine the peak amount of oxygen they utilized during long-term, strenuous activity.

The combination of the two tests left some of the fittest players on their hands and knees in pain.

“You can’t really expect or tell what those things are going to be like until you go through it and feel the after-effects,” said Steven Stamkos, Central Scouting’s top-rated prospect. “It’s pretty tough; I’m definitely glad it’s all over with.”

“I wasn’t expecting it to go as long as it did, so at the end I was pretty dead,” added Tyler Myers, the Kelowna Rockets defenseman ranked No. 4 by Central Scouting.

As hard as the tests were, they all finished, and that in and of itself means more to the NHL scouts and personnel people than the results.

“What I look for is whether these kids can fight through it when it gets really hard, really difficult, later into the testing,” said Chicago Blackhawks General Manager Dale Tallon. “What their hearts are. If they continue to fight through it while struggling through it, that’s what I look at.

“It’s how they approach it and how they go about it. The results aren’t as important as the desire and the character is.”

Many said the testing was unlike anything they ever had experienced, but say it was worth it if it helps their draft position.

“If it helps me get drafted,” said Joe Colborne, the 28th-ranked skater and Junior A star from the Camrose Kodiaks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, “than it was worth it.”