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2019 NHL Scouting Combine: Dates, schedule, top prospects

Posted on by Brandon Cain

There are 104 draft eligible prospects scheduled to participate in this year’s NHL Scouting Combine, starting Monday at KeyBank Center and HarborCenter in Buffalo.

The week-long combine gives all 31 NHL teams the opportunity to evaluate those players based on physical and mental tests prior to the NHL draft, which is June 21-22 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. There will be 56 forwards, 38 defenseman and 10 goaltenders, who are listed on NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings for North American and International skaters and goaltenders, attending the combine.

Teams will conduct one-on-one interviews with prospects Monday through Friday. The fitness testing portion begins Wednesday with medical examinations followed by seven of the 11 drills/tests Saturday at HarborCenter.

  • Bench press
  • Pro agility test
  • Pull ups
  • Standing long jump
  • Standing height
  • Wingspan
  • Wingate Cycle Ergometer test/

All the above listed tests will be open to NHL teams and the media. Only the Functional Movement Screen and Y-Balance test results will not be made public. As in previous years, the top 25 results from each of the physical tests will be posted in real-time to centralscouting.nhl.com. The combine will not be broadcasted on NHL Network in the United States. There will be a web stream on Sportsnet.ca.

Top prospects

American center Jack Hughes of the United States National Team Development Program Under-18 team and Finnish winger Kaapo Kakko of TPS in Liiga are the projected top two picks in the NHL Draft. Hughes is the top ranked North American skater by the NHL Central Scouting’s rankings, while Kakko takes the top spot among International skaters. The Devils and Rangers hold the top two picks, respectively.

The Blackhawks have the No. 3 overall pick and it’s anyone’s guess who they’ll pick. Here are some prospects on their radar:

  • Left-handed defenseman Bowen Byram of WHL Vancouver (No. 2 NA)
  • Center Kirby Dach of WHL Saskatoon (No. 3 NA)
  • Center Alex Turcotte of USNTDP/Wisconsin commit (No. 4 NA)
  • Center/Right wing Dylan Cozens of WHL Lethbridge (No. 5 NA)
  • Center/Left wing Trevor Zegras of USNTDP/Boston University commit (No. 6 NA)/

Chicago has seven draft picks for this year’s draft, including the Bruins’ fourth-round selection due to the 2018 Tommy Wingels trade. That pick will be the No. 123 or 124 overall pick depending on the outcome of the Stanley Cup Final. A Boston win would make it the No. 124 selection.

Illinois ties

Turcotte of Island Lake isn’t the only prospect with Chicago or Illinois ties participating in the combine. Goaltender Cameron Rowe and defenseman Alex Vlasic are both from Wilmette and forward Owen Lindmark hails from Naperville.

  • Goaltender Cameron Rowe of USNTDP/North Dakota commit (No. 4 NA)
  • Left-handed defenseman Jackson LaCombe of USHL Chicago as an affiliate/Minnesota commit (No. 36 NA)
  • Left-handed defenseman Alex Vlasic of USNTDP/BU commit (No. 38 NA)
  • Right winger Robert Mastrosimone of USHL Chicago/BU commit (No. 53 NA)
  • Forward Owen Lindmark of USNTDP/Wisconsin commit (No. 93 NA)
  • Right winger Trevor Janicke of USHL Central Illinois/Notre Dame commit (No. 119 NA)/

Saturday’s testing schedule

*Numbers indicate a bib number and NOT NHL Central Scouting ranking.

7:30 a.m.

  • Tobias Bjornfot (No. 16, D)
  • Ville Heinola (No. 21, D)
  • Mikko Kokkonen (No. 27, D)
  • Simon Lundmark (No. 41, D)
  • Patrik Puistola (No. 105, RW)
  • Antti Saarella (No. 85, C)
  • Isaiah Saville (No. 6, G)
  • Antti Tuomisto (No. 58, D)/

8 a.m.

  • Hugo Anlefelt (No. 5, G)
  • Ryder Donovan (No. 112, C)
  • Albin Grewe (No. 104, RW)
  • Nils Hoglander (No. 94, LW)
  • Albert Johansson (No. 23, D)
  • Marcus Kallionkieli (No. 21, LW)
  • Mattias Nordlinder (No. 33, D)
  • Victor Soderstrom (No. 28, D)/

8:30 a.m.

  • Egor Anasyev (No. 144, LW)
  • Domenick Fensore (No. 20, D)
  • Spencer Knight (No. 8, G)
  • Ilya Nikolaev (No. 82, C)
  • Nikita Okhotyuk (No. 44, D)
  • Cameron Rowe (No. 9, G)
  • Marshall Warren (No. 30, D)
  • Trevor Zegras (No. 90, C)/

9 a.m.

  • Ronald Attard (No. 51, D)
  • Samuel Bolduc (No. 35, D)
  • Alexander Campbell (No. 92, LW)
  • Taylor Gauthier (No. 7, G)
  • Peyton Krebs (No. 79, C)
  • Nathan Legare (No. 127, RW)
  • Trent Miner (No. 3, G)
  • Ethan Phillips (No. 83, C)/

9:30 a.m.

  • Alex Beaucage (No. 123, RW)
  • Colten Ellis (No. 4, G)
  • Hunter Jones (No. 12, G)
  • Alex Newhook (No. 81, C)
  • Jakob Pelletier (No. 97, LW)
  • Matthew Robertson (No. 57, D)
  • Ryan Suzuki (No. 86, C)
  • Alex Turcotte (No. 89, C)/

10 a.m.

  • John Beecher (No. 146, C)
  • Nolan Foote (No. 129, LW)
  • Jack Hughes (No. 96, C)
  • Ryan Johnson (No. 32, D)
  • Artur Kaliyev (No. 126, RW)
  • Robert Mastrosimone (No. 95, LW)
  • Shane Pinto (No. 115, C)
  • Mads Sogaard (No. 14, G)/

10:30 a.m.

  • Layton Ahac (No. 50, D)
  • Harrison Blaisdell (No. 73, C)
  • Kirby Dach (No. 111, C)
  • Kaedan Korczak (No. 40, D)
  • Connor McMichael (No. 80, C)
  • Nicholas Robertson (No. 98, LW)
  • Philip Tomasino (No. 88, C)
  • Michael Vukojevic (No. 60, D)/

11 a.m.

  • Nikita Alexander (No. 72, C)
  • Philip Broberg (No. 36, D)
  • Judd Caulfield (No. 125, RW)
  • Dylan Cozens (No. 74, C)
  • Matvey Gustkov (No. 76, C)
  • Artemi Kniazev (No. 25, D)
  • Vladislav Kolyachonok (No. 39, D)
  • Cameron York (No. 31, D)/

11:30 a.m.

  • Cole Caufield (No. 102, RW)
  • Samuel Fagemo (No. 93, LW)
  • Thomas Harley (No. 37, D)
  • Karl Henriksson (No. 77, C)
  • Pyotr Kochetkov (No. 15, G)
  • Case McCarthy (No. 42, D)
  • Yegor Spiridonov (No. 116, C)/

1 p.m.

  • Mikhail Abramov (No. 71, C)
  • Bobby Brink (No. 101, RW)
  • Roman Bychkov (No. 24, D)
  • Pavel Dorofeyev (No. 118, LW)
  • Trevor Janicke (No. 78, C)
  • Jackson LaCombe (No. 49, D)
  • Owen Lindmark (No. 131, C)
  • Vasily Podkolzin (No. 119, RW)/

1:30 p.m.

  • Bowen Byram (No. 17, D)
  • William Constantinou (No. 19, D)
  • Drew Helleson (No. 38, D)
  • Michael Koster (No. 26, D)
  • Moritz Seider (No. 43, D)
  • Brayden Tracey (No. 100, LW)
  • Alex Vlasic (No. 61, D)/

2 p.m.

  • Adam Beckman (No. 91, LW)
  • Graeme Clarke (No. 103, RW)
  • Simon Holmstrom (No. 106, RW)
  • Anttoni Honka (No. 22, D)
  • Brett Leason (No. 145, RW)
  • Jordan Spence (No. 29, D)
  • Michal Teply (No. 122, LW)
  • Lassi Thomson (No. 46, D)/

2:30 p.m.

  • Matthew Boldy (No. 117, LW)
  • John Farinacci (No. 75, C)
  • Raphael Lavoie (No. 114, C)
  • Samuel Poulin (No. 128, RW)
  • Jamieson Rees (No. 84, C)
  • Jayden Struble (No. 45, D)
  • Henry Thrun (No. 47, D)
  • Cade Webber (No. 59, D)/

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