Colorado Avalanche: About the 2018 NHL Scouting Combine

The Colorado Avalanche will be sending staff to evaluate top prospects at the 2018 NHL Combine.

It’s that time of year again for the Colorado Avalanche and all the other teams in the NHL — the 2018 NHL Combine. The evaluations are a mix of physical and psychological and also include an interview process.

It’s hard to say how much stock NHL teams put in the tests of the Combine. The results vary more wildly than you might imagine — last year, Casey Mittelstadt became famous for being unable to perform a pull-up. He got selected eight-overall by the Buffalo Sabres and has already appeared in six NHL games. How his Combine performance affected his draft position is impossible to know.

Two years ago, it was widely known that Tyson Jost gave one of the, if not the, best interviews. That may well have played into the Colorado Avalanche selecting him with their #10 pick when he was scouted a bit lower.

In any case, the Combine is clearly considered important since they hold it every year.

When the NHL Scouting Combine Takes Place

The 2018 NHL Scouting Combine is taking place between May 28 to June 2, by design roughly three weeks before the Draft. During that week teams can conduct interviews with any of the 104 prospects in attendance.

The interviews take place from Monday through Friday. Medical exams take place on Thursday, May 31. The majority of the physical fitness tests will take place on Saturday, June 2.

Sportsnet.ca will be live streaming the Scouting Combine on Saturday, June 2 for three hours, beginning at 7:00 a.m. MT and wrapping up at noon.

Venue for the NHL Scouting Combine

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For the third year, the NHL Combine is being held at a connected complex in Buffalo, New York. Fitness testing takes place at HarborCenter, while prospect interviews are held at the Keybank Center. The prospects stay at the Marriott Hotel.

Purpose of the Scouting Combine

The purpose of the Scouting Combine is for NHL scouts and general managers to get the chance to meet the prospects while also evaluating the testing results. Dan Marr, the NHL’s director of Central Scouting, describes it thus:

“The goal is to present an event that allows NHL personnel to interact with the future stars of our game and assist the NHL clubs in their pursuit of gaining as much knowledge about the draft prospects as possible. Central Scouting looks forward to hosting the prospects during combine week so that they can further showcase themselves.“

Prospects Attending

The Scouting Combine will host 104 of the prospects from this year’s draft class. Here’s a complete list of invitees:

PLAYER, TEAM, LEAGUE, POSITION

BUFFALO, NY – JUNE 02: Tyson Jost poses for a headshot at the 2016 NHL Combine on June 2, 2016 at Harborcenter in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images) /

CALEN ADDISON, LETHBRIDGE, WHL, D
ALEXANDER ALEXEYEV, RED DEER, WHL, D
OSKAR BACK, FARJESTAD JR., SWEDEN, C
KEVIN BAHL, OTTAWA, OHL, D
SETH BARTON, TRAIL, BCHL, D
NICOLAS BEAUDIN, DRUMMONDVILLE, QMJHL, D
XAVIER BERNARD, DRUMMONDVILLE, QMJHL, D
JACOB BERNARD-DOCKER, OKOTOKS, AJHL, D
DOMINIK BOKK, VAXJO JR., SWEDEN, RW
ADAM BOQVIST, BRYNAS JR., SWEDEN, D
EVAN BOUCHARD, LONDON, OHL, D
XAVIER BOUCHARD, BAIE-COMEAU, QMJHL, D
MICHAEL CALLAHAN, YOUNGSTOWN, USHL, D
KODY CLARK, OTTAWA, OHL, RW
RASMUS DAHLIN, FROLUNDA, SWEDEN, D
TY DELLANDREA, FLINT, OHL, C
STANISLAV DEMIN, WENATCHEE, BCHL, D
GRIGORI DENISENKO, YAROSLAVL JR., LW
NOAH DOBSON, ACADIE-BATHURST, QMJHL, D
LUKAS DOSTAL, TREBIC, CZECH REPUBLIC, G
CURTIS DOUGLAS, WINDSOR, OHL, C
JACK DRURY, WATERLOO, USHL, C
AIDAN DUDAS, OWEN SOUND, OHL, C
SEAN DURZI, OWEN SOUND, OHL, D
TY EMBERSON, USNTDP, USHL, D
JOEL FARABEE, USNTDP, USHL, LW
MARTIN FEHERVARY, OSKARSHAMN, SWEDEN, D
ERIC FLORCHUK, SASKATOOON, WHL, C
COLE FONSTAD, PRINCE ALBERT, WHL, C
GABRIEL FORTIER, BAIE-COMEAU, QMJHL, LW
LIAM FOUDY, LONDON, OHL, C
PATRICK GILES, USNTDP, USHL, RW
ADAM GINNING, LINKOPING, SWEDEN, D
JACK GORNIAK, WEST SALEM, US HIGH SCHOOL, LW
ALEXIS GRAVEL, HALIFAX, QMJHL, G
NICO GROSS, OSHAWA, OHL, D
BENOIT-OLIVIER GROULX, HALIFAX, QMJHL, C
JONATHAN GRUDEN, USNTDP, USHL, C
CURTIS HALL, YOUNGSTOWN, USHL, C
FILIP HALLANDER, TIMRA, SWEDEN, C
JORDAN HARRIS, KIMBALL UNION, US HIGH SCHOOL, D
BARRETT HAYTON, SAULT STE. MARIE, OHL, C
LUKE HENMAN, BLAINVILLE-BOISBRIAND, QMJHL, C
CAMERON HILLIS, GUELPH, OHL, C
MITCHELL HOELSCHER, OTTAWA, OHL, C
QUINN HUGHES, MICHIGAN, NCAA, D
JACOB INGHAM, MISSISSAUGA, OHL, G
JAN JENIK, BENATKY, CZECH REPUBLIC, RW
BLADE JENKINS, SAGINAW, OHL, LW
FILIP JOHANSSON, LEKSNAD, SWEDEN, D
KEEGAN KARKI, MUSKEGON, USHL, G
MARTIN KAUT, PARDUBICE, CZECH REPUBLIC, RW
MICHAEL KESSELRING, NEW HAMPTON, US HIGH SCHOOL, D
ALEXANDER KHOVANOV, MONCTON, QMJHL, C
LIAM KIRK, SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND, LW
JESPERI KOTKANIEMI, ASSAT, FINLAND, C
FILIP KRAL, SPOKANE, WHL, D
VITALI KRAVSTOV, CHELYABINSK, RUSSIA, RW
RASMUS KUPARI, KARPAT, FINLAND, C
PHILIPP KURASHEV, QUEBEC, QMJHL, C
JAKUB LAUKO, CHOMUTOV, CZECH REPUBLIC, C
ISAC LUNDESTROM, LULEA, SWEDEN, C
NILS LUNDKVIST, LULEA, SWEDEN, D
ANDERSON MACDONALD, MONCTON, QMJHL, LW
TYLER MADDEN, TRI-CITY, USHL, C
KEVIN MANDOLESE, CAPE BRETON, QMJHL, G
JACK MCBAIN, TORONTO JC, OJHL, C
JARED MCISAAC, HALIFAX, QMJHL, D
BLAKE MCLAUGHLIN, CHICAGO, USHL, LW
RYAN MCLEOD, MISSISSAUGA, OHL, C
ALLAN MCSHANE, OSHAWA, OHL, C
RYAN MERKLEY,. GUELPH, OHL, D
K’ANDRE MILLER, USNTDP, USHL, D
SERRON NOEL, OSHAWA, OHL, RW
NIKLAS NORDGREN, HIFK JR., FINLAND, RW
JAY O’BRIEN, THAYER ACADEMY, US HIGH SCHOOL, C
JACOB OLOFSSON, TIMRA, SWEDEN, C
MATEJ PEKAR, MUSKEGON, USHL, C
JACKSON PERBIX, ELK RIVER, US HIGH SCHOOL, RW
JACOB PIVONKA, USNTDP, USHL, C
SAMPO RANTA, SIOUX CITY, USHL, LW
ALEC REGULA, LONDON, OHL, D
KRISTIAN REICHEL, RED DEER, WHL, C
CARTER ROBERTSON, OTTAWA, OHL, D
OLIVIER RODRIGUE, DRUMMONDVILLE, QMJHL, G
MILOS ROMAN, VANCOUVER, WHL, C
MATTIAS SAMUELSSON, USNTDP, USHL, D
RASMUS SANDIN, SAULT STE. MARIE, OHL, D
JAKUB SKAREK, JIHLAVA, CZECH REPUBLIC, G
TY SMITH, SPOKANE, WHL, D
RILEY STOTTS, CALGARY, WHL, C
RILEY SUTTER, EVERETT, WHL, RW
ANDREI SVECHNIKOV, BARRIE, OHL, RW
AKIL THOMAS, NIAGARA, OHL, C
BRADY TKACHUK, BOSTON UNIVERSITY, NCAA, LW
JONATHAN TYCHONICK, PENTICTON, BCHL, D
GIOVANNI VALLATI, KITCHENER, OHL, D
JOE VELENO, DRUMMONDVILLE, QMJHL, C
OLIVER WAHLSTROM, USNTDP, USHL, RW
TYLER WEISS, USNTDP, USHL, LW
BODE WILDE, USNTDP, USHL, D
JAKE WISE, USNTDP, USHL, C
JETT WOO, MOOSE JAW, WHL, D
FILIP ZADINA, HALIFAX, QMJHL, RW

Players must be cleared medically to take part in the physical testing. If a prospect is unable to perform any part of the testing because of injury or rehabilitation, he’ll be classified as either injury- or medically-exempt. Prospects can also decline an invitation to the Combine, though it’s rare.

If you’d to read about the physical and psychological tests the players go through, check out his post:

Related Story: 2017 Scouting Combine

The 2018 NHL Draft takes place in Dallas on June 22 and 23. The Colorado Avalanche and other teams are sure to use results from the NHL Combine to drive their selections.

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