VITAL NHL COMBINE FOR OILERS

7 years ago

The NHL Combine gets a lot of coverage, but what can it tell us? We used to get heights and weights from each player attending, but even that went south in 2015. Is there anything of value for fans? Yes.

What are teams looking for in the interview process?

Aside from 10 fingers and toes, scouts spend a lot of time interviewing prospects. They are looking for specific things, an example being this quote from a recent article from Fluto Shinzawa in the Boston Globe:

Keith Gretzky, Bruins Scouting Director: “When you compare
that to a younger kid who’s really raw and is like a deer in headlights,
you can tell, ‘OK, this player is going to take a little longer. He’s
got to mature. He’s got to realize what it’s going to be like to be a
pro.’ ”
Source

That was a portion of a quote from Gretzky about 2015 prospect Brendan Carlo, who would eventually be chosen No. 37 overall by the Bruins.

TESTING

There are all manner of tests that take place, and this year it has been rumored they will be made available through the following portal

Portal

The tests described are below

Testing description

THE LIST

List

I always like to look at the invites in order to see the names outside the normal 100 or so names you would expect. The Central Scouting List is divided into four lists, and if we assume normal slotting, the following names stand out:

A young goalie named Colton Point is ranked No. 4 NA goalie. He is not at the combine. The No. 5 name, Joseph Woll, is on the list of invitees. The No. 6 NA goalie, Zack Sawchenko from Moose Jaw, is also there.
The No. 7 Euro skater, Yegor Korshkov, is not at the combine. This does happen with some European players, and Korshkov is Russian—that alone can have him off some lists (KHL worries are real). Artur Kayumov, a lower-rated Russian, is at the combine.
The NA skater list forms the bulk of the invite list, with some of the NA CSB ranked players inside the top 70 not getting invites due to age. Dylan Gambrell (No. 67) and Adam Brooks (No. 72) are both 1996 born.
The highest-ranked 1998 born Central Scouting NA kids who were not invited are Jeff De Wit (No. 80) and Matt Phillips (No. 81). William Lockwood at No. 108 NA may be the lowest-ranked invite.
Source

The OHL has over 30 prospects at the combine—Oilers fans should hope the organization drafts early and often from the world’s best junior league this year.

VITAL DRAFT

In his fascinating book THE ROAD TO HOCKEYTOWN, Jimmy Devellano talks about the goal of a scouting director and his staff:

‘We’re
trying to determine if the player can get to the next level, that’s the
real job. Most people can sit and watch a game and tell you who the
best player on the ice is, but the good scout will be able to judge
whether or not a player can go a step or two higher. We in the hockey
business call it projecting. “

The Edmonton Oilers have selected exactly two top flight forward
prospects in the last two entry drafts. Fortunately, the two are Connor
McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but the club badly needs to score well at
the draft table this summer. The scouts often get blamed for the lack of talent being developed, but the Oilers have had exactly three selections in the top 100 (in total) in the last two drafts: McDavid, Draisaitl and William Lagesson.

Edmonton values the combine, as this list of players who have attended (and subsequently been drafted by the Oilers) shows:

2010 Oilers draft

Taylor Hall selected #1, ranked #1 (attended combine)
Tyler Pitlick selected #31, ranked #25 (attended combine)
Martin Marincin selected #56, ranked #71 (attended combine)
Curtis Hamilton selected #48, ranked 57 (attended combine)
Ryan Martindale selected #61, ranked 58 (attended combine)
Tyler Bunz selected #121, not ranked (attended combine)
Brandon Davidson selected #162, not ranked (attended combine)

2011 Oilers draft

Ryan Nugent Hopkins selected #1, ranked #1 (attended combine)
Oscar Klefbom selected #19, ranked #21 (attended combine)
David Musil selected #31, ranked #41 (attended combine)
Samu Perhonen selected #62, ranked #51 (attended combine)
Travis Ewanyk selected #74, ranked HM (attended combine)
Tobias Rieder selected #114, unranked (attended combine)

2012 Oilers draft

Nail Yakupov selected #1, ranked #1 (attended combine)
Mitchell Moroz selected #32, ranked #56 (attended combine)
Jujhar Khaira selected #63, not ranked (attended combine)
Daniil Zharkov selected #91, ranked #47 (attended combine)

2013 Oilers draft

Darnell Nurse selected #7, ranked #9 (attended combine)
Marco Roy selected #56, ranked #59 (attended combine)
Bogdan Yakimov selected #83 not ranked (attended combine)
Jackson Houck, selected #94 not ranked (attended combine)

2014 Oilers draft

Leon Draisaitl selected #3, ranked #4 (attended combine)

2015 Oilers draft

Connor McDavid selected #1, ranked #1 (attended combine)
Caleb Jones selected #117, ranked #130 ISS (attended combine)
Ethan Bear selected #124, ranked #78 ISS (attended combine)
John Marino selected #154, ranked #95 ISS (attended combine)

The 111 (or so) young prospects at the combine this week are a big part of the NHL’s future. It is vital for the Oilers to add more than one or two of these names.