Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
The Buffalo Sabres held their own scouting combine for the first time in 2011, just after Terry Pegula took over the team. The idea was to augment the information the team gathered at the NHL Combine by adding their own tests which included on-ice workouts. The Sabres brought in a few dozen prospects that year and tested them over a four-day span.
The Sabres Draft Combine was an idea the scouting department had for a while but due to budgetary constraints of the previous owner never came to fruition. At his introductory press conference in February, 2011 Pegula stated that "there is no salary cap in the NHL on scouting budgets and player development budgets. I plan on increasing...our budgets" and he followed that up four months later with the inaugural Buffalo Sabres Draft Combine.
Showing posts with label 2015 NHL Combine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2015 NHL Combine. Show all posts
Monday, June 8, 2015
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Bulletin board material, Jack Eichel tells Sabres he'll be better than McSavior
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
The Buffalo Sabres are host to the NHL Scouting Combine this year and also have the second overall pick in the upcoming draft. They could've blown off the interview process when it came to prospect Jack Eichel as it's all but 100% certain that they'll take him with their second-overall pick. Some would say, why bother?
They did have a chat Eichel but passed on interviewing consensus 1st-overall pick, Connor McDavid. Perhaps they talked to him enough during the 2014-15 season as he played 90 minutes away in Erie, PA and even played in an OHL game at First Niagara Center, home to the Buffalo Sabres. But GM Tim Murray told Mike Schopp and the Bulldog on WGR550 earlier this evening that they hadn't interviewed McDavid and that it wasn't in their plans.
He also said that Eichel "would have been fine" with a lone Sabres interview, but other teams were interested in sitting down with him and "out of respect for [those] teams," he ended up doing some eight to 10 of them. The Combine interview process is that it wouldn't be the players choice as to who they would interview with, it would be the teams.
We Sabres fans, of course, don't care who he interviewed with or what was asked. We're interested how his interview with the Sabres went.
"He was great," Murray told Schopp and the Bulldog. "He came into our interview and I think he knew it was an important interview. He was ready, he was prepared. He was quick. He was sharp.
"He was impressive."
That's good to know. Just as the Sabres could've blown this off, so too could Eichel have just taken the whole thing for granted. It's impressive that he took the interview seriously enough to come in prepared.
But there was more to it than just questions about his game and what he thought of Buffalo and/or chicken wings. We found out something about Eichel that not only told us he's ready to go, but that he also has a little chip on his shoulder.
Schopp brought up an article in today's Boston Globe by Fluto Shinzawa concerning Eichel who comes from North Chelmsford, MA, which is a suburb of Boston. Shinzawa writes about the city of Buffalo and its bad-luck, bridesmaid sports teams while mentioning that Eichel had a taste of second place after his Boston University Terriers lost to Providence for the NCAA Hockey Championship this year. It's a good piece. Shinzawa is objective in his observations of Buffalo's history while sharing in the optimism that emanates from the Canal Side area of downtown Buffalo.
He noted that Eichel "got a preview of his future workplace" and during the interview process with the Sabres Shinzawa said that, "Eichel told his questioners, in a respectful but confident manner, that he would be better than Connor McDavid, his Canadian foil."
Schopp forwarded that tidbit to Murray to which the GM responded, "He said that. I think he should say that. Why not say that?
"I think he believes it. The way he played this season, we called it a two-horse race (otherwise known as McEichel) all year. So why should he not believe [he's better than McDavid]? Why should he not believe his skill-set--the whole package, size, skating ability, puck skills, hockey sense--the whole package as I said. He's confident in it and he backed up that confidence with his play this year and had a tremendous year. So, I don't know why he wouldn't believe he's the best player in the draft."
Like Chris "Bulldog" Parker said, a statement like that usually doesn't come from someone who will be playing anywhere other than in the NHL next season, to which Murray replied, "No, I can't imagine. If you believe you're the best guy in the draft and you can't wait to prove it, the NHL is where you go to prove it."
Man.
Can't wait for the season to begin.
The Buffalo Sabres are host to the NHL Scouting Combine this year and also have the second overall pick in the upcoming draft. They could've blown off the interview process when it came to prospect Jack Eichel as it's all but 100% certain that they'll take him with their second-overall pick. Some would say, why bother?
They did have a chat Eichel but passed on interviewing consensus 1st-overall pick, Connor McDavid. Perhaps they talked to him enough during the 2014-15 season as he played 90 minutes away in Erie, PA and even played in an OHL game at First Niagara Center, home to the Buffalo Sabres. But GM Tim Murray told Mike Schopp and the Bulldog on WGR550 earlier this evening that they hadn't interviewed McDavid and that it wasn't in their plans.
He also said that Eichel "would have been fine" with a lone Sabres interview, but other teams were interested in sitting down with him and "out of respect for [those] teams," he ended up doing some eight to 10 of them. The Combine interview process is that it wouldn't be the players choice as to who they would interview with, it would be the teams.
We Sabres fans, of course, don't care who he interviewed with or what was asked. We're interested how his interview with the Sabres went.
"He was great," Murray told Schopp and the Bulldog. "He came into our interview and I think he knew it was an important interview. He was ready, he was prepared. He was quick. He was sharp.
"He was impressive."
That's good to know. Just as the Sabres could've blown this off, so too could Eichel have just taken the whole thing for granted. It's impressive that he took the interview seriously enough to come in prepared.
But there was more to it than just questions about his game and what he thought of Buffalo and/or chicken wings. We found out something about Eichel that not only told us he's ready to go, but that he also has a little chip on his shoulder.
Schopp brought up an article in today's Boston Globe by Fluto Shinzawa concerning Eichel who comes from North Chelmsford, MA, which is a suburb of Boston. Shinzawa writes about the city of Buffalo and its bad-luck, bridesmaid sports teams while mentioning that Eichel had a taste of second place after his Boston University Terriers lost to Providence for the NCAA Hockey Championship this year. It's a good piece. Shinzawa is objective in his observations of Buffalo's history while sharing in the optimism that emanates from the Canal Side area of downtown Buffalo.
He noted that Eichel "got a preview of his future workplace" and during the interview process with the Sabres Shinzawa said that, "Eichel told his questioners, in a respectful but confident manner, that he would be better than Connor McDavid, his Canadian foil."
Schopp forwarded that tidbit to Murray to which the GM responded, "He said that. I think he should say that. Why not say that?
"I think he believes it. The way he played this season, we called it a two-horse race (otherwise known as McEichel) all year. So why should he not believe [he's better than McDavid]? Why should he not believe his skill-set--the whole package, size, skating ability, puck skills, hockey sense--the whole package as I said. He's confident in it and he backed up that confidence with his play this year and had a tremendous year. So, I don't know why he wouldn't believe he's the best player in the draft."
Like Chris "Bulldog" Parker said, a statement like that usually doesn't come from someone who will be playing anywhere other than in the NHL next season, to which Murray replied, "No, I can't imagine. If you believe you're the best guy in the draft and you can't wait to prove it, the NHL is where you go to prove it."
Man.
Can't wait for the season to begin.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
NHL Combine represents plenty of opportunity for teams to talk trade. Mantha-watch is on
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
The talk surrounding the eventual departure of Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock invariably centered around which of the young players in the Wings system will be receive the torch from veterans Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen.
Young players like Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar are just beginning their NHL journeys having spent years with the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins developing. Both look pretty impressive so far. The 25 yr. old Nyquist scored 55 goals in 139 games for Detroit over the last two seasons while Tatar (24 yrs. old) had 29 goals, including seven game-winners and nine on the powerplay, in 82 games for the Wings last season.
Detroit has a bevy forwards in their system who look like impact players in the future. Names like Teemu Pulkkinen, Andreas Athanasiou and Tyler Bertuzzi may soon be joining Nyquist, Tatar, Riley Shehan, Tomas Jurco and Danny DeKeyser as the future of the Red Wings.
And that group will probably be topped off by Dylan Larkin who, at just 18 yrs. old, is performing extremely well in the AHL playoffs for Grand Rapids. In five games he has three goals and two assists after joining the team following an impressive 2015 IIHF World Championship tournament for Team USA.
Babcock had asked the question, "Who's gonna replace Pav[el Datsyuk]? when contemplating his future with the organization. Larkin, it would seem, is at the head of the group and with the way the Wings draft and develop talent, any number of the players mentioned above might provide the answer.
The talk surrounding the eventual departure of Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock invariably centered around which of the young players in the Wings system will be receive the torch from veterans Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen.
Young players like Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar are just beginning their NHL journeys having spent years with the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins developing. Both look pretty impressive so far. The 25 yr. old Nyquist scored 55 goals in 139 games for Detroit over the last two seasons while Tatar (24 yrs. old) had 29 goals, including seven game-winners and nine on the powerplay, in 82 games for the Wings last season.
Detroit has a bevy forwards in their system who look like impact players in the future. Names like Teemu Pulkkinen, Andreas Athanasiou and Tyler Bertuzzi may soon be joining Nyquist, Tatar, Riley Shehan, Tomas Jurco and Danny DeKeyser as the future of the Red Wings.
And that group will probably be topped off by Dylan Larkin who, at just 18 yrs. old, is performing extremely well in the AHL playoffs for Grand Rapids. In five games he has three goals and two assists after joining the team following an impressive 2015 IIHF World Championship tournament for Team USA.
Babcock had asked the question, "Who's gonna replace Pav[el Datsyuk]? when contemplating his future with the organization. Larkin, it would seem, is at the head of the group and with the way the Wings draft and develop talent, any number of the players mentioned above might provide the answer.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
NHL Draft Combine begins tomorrow in Buffalo, NY
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
For the first 21 years of its existence the NHL Scouting Combine was held in hotel ballrooms and convention centers in a large Canadian metropolitan city that likes to call itself "The Centre of the Hockey Universe," which happens to be home to NHL and NHL Central Scouting Services.
The idea for the Combine was basically a two-fold approach where teams could get an up close and personal look at prospects eligible for the upcoming draft. During the week long Combine teams will conduct player interviews with an expected 120 or so players this year (for a full list, click here) before attention is directed a the players' physical attributes. One-on-one interviews are set to take place June 1-5, with individual medical examines on June 4 followed by endurance and fitness testing on be June 6th.
"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," said Dan Marr, the Director of NHL Central Scouting.
For the first 21 years of its existence the NHL Scouting Combine was held in hotel ballrooms and convention centers in a large Canadian metropolitan city that likes to call itself "The Centre of the Hockey Universe," which happens to be home to NHL and NHL Central Scouting Services.
The idea for the Combine was basically a two-fold approach where teams could get an up close and personal look at prospects eligible for the upcoming draft. During the week long Combine teams will conduct player interviews with an expected 120 or so players this year (for a full list, click here) before attention is directed a the players' physical attributes. One-on-one interviews are set to take place June 1-5, with individual medical examines on June 4 followed by endurance and fitness testing on be June 6th.
"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," said Dan Marr, the Director of NHL Central Scouting.
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