Teams, Prospects Gather in Buffalo Ahead of the NHL Draft
The start of June means one thing, the NHL Scouting Combine. Throughout the next week, NHL teams and this year’s top prospects will gather in Buffalo, NY for interviews, medical assessments, and fitness testing. This year’s combine will have the top 90 draft-eligible players from North America and Europe participating, including 58 forwards, 27 defensemen, and five goaltenders.
The combine lets each NHL team learn more about players they could draft at the end of the month. It also gives these prospects their first opportunity to learn more about where they could start their NHL careers.
Over June 2-6, teams can hold one-on-one interviews with prospects, while on June 4, the players will take part in medical testing. On June 6, those participating in the combine will have their first physical test, the Maximal VO2 test. This test uses a Watt bike to measure the maximum oxygen utilization of each player. On the final day of the combine, June 7, seven of the 11 fitness tests will take place. Prospects will participate in the following stations: standing height and wingspan measurements, horizontal jump, jump station (vertical jump, no arm jump), bench press, pro agility test (5-10-5 yard shuffle), pull ups, and the Wingate Cycle Ergometer test.
Following the combine, teams will have several weeks to prepare for the NHL Draft. This year’s draft is June 27 and 28 in Los Angeles, CA. Utah holds the fourth-overall pick and six total picks. Follow UtahMammoth.com and all of the Mammoth’s social media channels for coverage!

source