NHL Combine 2015: Full Results, Measurements, Highlights and Top Prospects
With the June 26 NHL draft on the horizon, the best prospects in hockey converged on Buffalo, New York, this week to take part in the 2015 NHL Scouting Combine at First Niagara Center and HarborCenter.
While much of the prospects' time was spent interviewing with teams and undergoing medical testing, Saturday featured the bulk of their physical workouts. From basic events like the bench press and vertical jump to more advanced tests to measure stamina and fatigue, all 30 NHL teams got an opportunity to see what the incoming players are capable of.
Along with a full rundown of measurements for combine invitees, here is a look at the top 10 results for the notable workouts, as well as further analysis regarding the performances of likely No. 1 and No. 2 overall selections Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel.
TOP NEWS
Why Flames Should Package Picks for Players
Are the Red Wings in Trouble? 😰
Sens' Pick in Updated Mock Draft
Combine Measurements
| Filip Ahl | F | 6'3.25" | 211 |
| Sebastian Aho | F | 5'11.25" | 172 |
| Rasmus Andersson | D | 6'0" | 212 |
| Karch Bachman | F | 5'10.5" | 175 |
| Mathew Barzal | F | 5'11.25" | 175 |
| Ethan Bear | D | 5'11" | 200 |
| Anthony Beauvillier | F | 5'10.25" | 173 |
| Paul Bittner | F | 6'4" | 204 |
| MacKenzie Blackwood | G | 6'4" | 215 |
| Brock Boeser | F | 6'0.5" | 191 |
| Nicholas Boka | D | 6'0.25" | 197 |
| Callum Booth | G | 6'2.75" | 199 |
| Gustav Bouramman | D | 5'11.25" | 184 |
| Simon Bourque | D | 6'0.25" | 184 |
| Jeremy Bracco | F | 5'9.25" | 173 |
| Guillaume Brisebois | D | 6'1.75" | 175 |
| Kyle Capobianco | D | 6'1" | 178 |
| Brandon Carlo | D | 6'5" | 196 |
| Gabriel Carlsson | D | 6'4" | 183 |
| Erik Cernak | D | 6'3" | 203 |
| Thomas Chabot | D | 6'1.5" | 180 |
| Filip Chlapik | F | 6'1" | 196 |
| Anthony Cirelli | F | 5'11.5" | 160 |
| Kyle Connor | F | 6'1" | 177 |
| David Cotton | F | 6'2.5" | 200 |
| Lawson Crouse | F | 6'4" | 215 |
| Alexander Dergachyov | F | 6'4" | 200 |
| Travis Dermott | D | 5'11.25" | 197 |
| Samuel Dove-McFalls | F | 6'2" | 207 |
| Vince Dunn | D | 5'11.75" | 187 |
| Jake DeBrusk | F | 5'11.75" | 174 |
| Jack Eichel | F | 6'2" | 196 |
| Joel Eriksson Ek | F | 6'1.75" | 180 |
| Christian Fischer | F | 6'1" | 212 |
| Erik Foley | F | 5'11.5" | 185 |
| Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson | F | 6'0.75" | 190 |
| Jesse Gabrielle | F | 5'10.75" | 205 |
| Gabriel Gagne | F | 6'4.75" | 186 |
| Glenn Gawdin | F | 6'0.5" | 191 |
| Dennis Gilbert | D | 6'2.25" | 201 |
| Jordan Greenway | F | 6'4.75" | 222 |
| AJ Greer | F | 6'2.5" | 204 |
| Ryan Gropp | F | 6'2" | 187 |
| Brendan Guhle | D | 6'1.75" | 184 |
| Denis Gurianov | F | 6'2.5" | 183 |
| Noah Hanifin | D | 6'2.75" | 203 |
| Jansen Harkins | F | 6'1.25" | 182 |
| Adin Hill | G | 6'3.5" | 198 |
| Roope Hintz | F | 6'2.5" | 185 |
| Connor Hobbs | D | 6'0.5" | 187 |
| Caleb Jones | D | 5'11.75" | 194 |
| Mathieu Joseph | F | 6.0.75" | 166 |
| Noah Juulsen | D | 6'1.5" | 174 |
| David Kase | F | 5'11" | 169 |
| Kameron Kielly | F | 6'0" | 180 |
| Graham Knott | F | 6'3.25" | 190 |
| Keegan Kolesar | F | 6'1.25 | 217 |
| Travis Konecny | F | 5'9.75" | 175 |
| Nikita Korostelev | F | 6'1.25" | 195 |
| Robin Kovacs | F | 6'0" | 172 |
| Oliver Kylington | D | 6'0" | 180 |
| Jacob Larsson | D | 6'2" | 191 |
| Jeremy Lauzon | D | 6'1.75" | 193 |
| Justin Lemcke | D | 6'2.25" | 200 |
| Jesper Lindgren | D | 6'0" | 161 |
| Jens Looke | F | 6'0.5" | 180 |
| John Marino | D | 6'0.5" | 171 |
| Mitch Marner | F | 5'11" | 160 |
| Cooper Marody | F | 6,0.25" | 173 |
| Adam Marsh | F | 6'0" | 160 |
| Chris Martenet | D | 6'7" | 198 |
| Hayden McCool | F | 6'3" | 200 |
| Connor McDavid | F | 6'0.75" | 195 |
| Brett McKenzie | F | 6'1.75" | 190 |
| Timo Meier | F | 6'1" | 209 |
| Nicolas Meloche | D | 6'2.5" | 204 |
| Nicholas Merkley | F | 5'10.5" | 191 |
| Samuel Montembeault | G | 6'2.5" | 173 |
| Adam Musil | F | 6'2.75" | 202 |
| Julius Nattinen | F | 6'1.75" | 191 |
| Andrew Nielsen | D | 6'3" | 207 |
| Nathan Noel | F | 5'10.75" | 172 |
| Thomas Novak | F | 6'0.5" | 179 |
| Luke Opilka | G | 6'1" | 192 |
| Chase Pearson | F | 6'2" | 189 |
| Ryan Pilon | D | 6'2" | 206 |
| Ivan Provorov | D | 6'0.5" | 201 |
| Mikko Rantanen | F | 6'3.5" | 211 |
| Chaz Reddekopp | D | 6'3.25" | 219 |
| Anthony Richard | F | 5'9.5" | 163 |
| Jack Roslovic | F | 6'0.5" | 182 |
| Nicolas Roy | F | 6'4" | 195 |
| Jeremy Roy | D | 6'0" | 188 |
| Jack Sadek | D | 6'1.5" | 185 |
| Ilya Samsonov | G | 6'3" | 200 |
| Felix Sandstrom | G | 6'2" | 191 |
| Thomas Schemitsch | D | 6'3" | 205 |
| Zachary Senyshyn | F | 6'1" | 192 |
| Deven Sideroff | F | 5'11" | 171 |
| Jonas Siegenthaler | D | 6'2.5" | 220 |
| Tyler Soy | F | 5'11.5" | 172 |
| Michael Spacek | F | 5'11" | 187 |
| Blake Speers | F | 5'11" | 181 |
| Matthew Spencer | D | 6'1.5" | 203 |
| Daniel Sprong | F | 6'0" | 180 |
| Mitchell Stephens | F | 5'11.25" | 188 |
| Dylan Strome | F | 6'3" | 185 |
| Evgeny Svechnikov | F | 6'1.75" | 199 |
| Matej Tomek | G | 6'2.5" | 180 |
| Yakov Trenin | F | 6'1.75" | 194 |
| Mitchell Vande Sompel | D | 5'10" | 182 |
| Daniel Vladar | G | 6'5.25" | 185 |
| Austin Wagner | F | 6'1" | 178 |
| Brendan Warren | F | 6'0.25" | 191 |
| Zachary Werenski | D | 6'2" | 206 |
| Colin White | F | 6'0" | 183 |
| Parker Wotherspoon | D | 6'0.25" | 171 |
| Dennis Yan | F | 6'1.25" | 184 |
| Pavel Zacha | F | 6'3" | 210 |
| Jakub Zboril | D | 6'0.75" | 184 |
Combine Test Results
| Pos. | Player | Time |
| 1 | Jack Eichel | 12:15 |
| 2 | Iakov Trenin | 12:15 |
| 3 | Keegan Kolesar | 12:01 |
| 4 | Joel Eriksson Ek | 12:00 |
| 5 | Paul Bittner | 12:00 |
| 6 | Nicolas Roy | 11:45 |
| 7 | MacKenzie Blackwood | 11:30 |
| 8 | Gabriel Carlsson | 11:30 |
| 9 | Chaz Reddekopp | 11:30 |
| 10 | Dennis Yan | 11:30 |
| Pos. | Player | mL/kg/min |
| 1 | Matthew Spencer | 70.0 |
| 2 | Nicholas Boka | 69.9 |
| 3 | Joel Eriksson Ek | 68.6 |
| 4 | Brendan Warren | 66.6 |
| 5 | Kyle Capobianco | 66.6 |
| 6 | Jacob Larsson | 66.0 |
| 7 | Jesper Lindgren | 65.9 |
| 8 | Mathieu Joseph | 65.6 |
| 9 | Brock Boeser | 65.5 |
| 10 | Jansen Harkins | 65.2 |
| Pos. | Player | Total |
| 1 | Colin White | 4.34 |
| 2 | Blake Speers | 4.38 |
| 3 | Zachary Senyshyn | 4.42 |
| 4 | Karch Bachman | 4.43 |
| 5 | Connor McDavid | 4.43 |
| 6 | Tyler Soy | 4.46 |
| 7 | Brendan Guhle | 4.47 |
| 8 | Jack Eichel | 4.48 |
| 9 | Mitchell Stephens | 4.48 |
| 10 | Callum Booth | 4.5 |
| Pos. | Player | Total |
| 1 | Colin White | 4.21 |
| 2 | Jack Eichel | 4.24 |
| 3 | Blake Speers | 4.29 |
| 4 | Erik Foley | 4.38 |
| 5 | Karch Bachman | 4.39 |
| 6 | Brendan Guhle | 4.39 |
| 7 | Tyler Soy | 4.4 |
| 8 | Mathieu Joseph | 4.42 |
| 9 | Mathieu Joseph | 4.45 |
| 10 | Dylan Strome | 4.47 |
| Pos. | Player | watts/kg |
| 1 | Jesse Gabrielle | 13.8 |
| 2 | Chaz Reddekopp | 12.5 |
| 3 | Graham Knott | 12.4 |
| 4 | Simon Bourque | 12.4 |
| 5 | Deven Sideroff | 12.2 |
| 6 | Karch Bachman | 12.2 |
| 7 | Mathieu Joseph | 12.0 |
| 8 | Ryan Gropp | 11.9 |
| 9 | Jesper Lindgren | 11.8 |
| 10 | Austin Wagner | 11.8 |
| Pos. | Player | watts/kg |
| 1 | Brendan Guhle | 19.9 |
| 2 | Deven Sideroff | 19.5 |
| 3 | Austin Wagner | 19.4 |
| 4 | MacKenzie Blackwood | 19.2 |
| 5 | Karch Bachman | 19.1 |
| 6 | Graham Knott | 18.6 |
| 7 | Dennis Yan | 18.5 |
| 8 | Ryan Gropp | 18.2 |
| 9 | Brandon Carlo | 18.2 |
| 10 | Robin Kovacs | 17.9 |
| Pos. | Player | Total |
| 1 | Jesse Gabrielle | 26.4 |
| 2 | Mitch Marner | 39.1 |
| 3 | Thomas Novak | 42.2 |
| 4 | Nicolas Meloche | 42.7 |
| 5 | Nicholas Merkley | 43.4 |
| 6 | Samuel Dove-McFalls | 43.6 |
| 7 | Cooper Marody | 44.4 |
| 8 | Nathan Noel | 44.5 |
| 9 | Zachary Werenski | 46.5 |
| 10 | Anthony Cirelli | 48.1 |
| Pos. | Player | Inches |
| 1 | Austin Wagner | 28.74 |
| 2 | Ryan Gropp | 27.44 |
| 3 | MacKenzie Blackwood | 27.28 |
| 4 | Brendan Guhle | 26.77 |
| 5 | Jack Eichel | 26.18 |
| 6 | Colin White | 25 |
| 7 | Erik Foley | 24.64 |
| 8 | Thomas Chabot | 24.02 |
| 9 | Karch Bachman | 23.74 |
| 10 | Gustav Bouramman | 23.7 |
| Pos. | Player | Reps |
| 1 | Jesse Gabrielle | 20 |
| 2 | Erik Foley | 17 |
| 3 | Connor Hobbs | 17 |
| 4 | Jack Eichel | 16 |
| 5 | Travis Konecny | 16 |
| 6 | Evgeny Svechnikov | 16 |
| 7 | Brendan Guhle | 15 |
| 8 | Deven Sideroff | 15 |
| 9 | Kyle Connor | 15 |
| 10 | Noah Hanifin | 15 |
| Pos. | Player | No. |
| 1 | Dennis Yan | 14 |
| 2 | Travis Konecny | 13 |
| 3 | Erik Foley | 12 |
| 4 | Kyle Connor | 12 |
| 5 | Brendan Guhle | 12 |
| 6 | Nathan Noel | 12 |
| 7 | Brendan Warren | 12 |
| 8 | Jordan Greenway | 12 |
| 9 | Felix Sandstrom | 12 |
| 10 | Jesse Gabrielle | 11 |
Breaking Down Top Prospects
Connor McDavid
After consecutive dominant seasons with the OHL's Erie Otters, forward Connor McDavid is a shoo-in to be selected No. 1 overall by the Edmonton Oilers. His combine performance wasn't going to change that, but he still showed off his competitive spirit Saturday.
Although he was among the top performers in only a couple of drills, the Canadian phenom performed well. He didn't necessarily have to participate since Edmonton is seemingly locked in on him, but Josh Yohe of DKonPittsburghSports.com applauded him for doing so anyway:
Here is a look at McDavid's results in some of the top workouts:
| Standing Long Jump | 97.3" |
| Vertical Jump | 19.488" |
| Pro Agility Left | 4.43 |
| Pro Agility Right | 4.53 |
| Bench Press | 9 |
| Pull-Ups | 6 |
| Wingate (Bike) | 17.49 |
| VO2 (Bike) | 10:15 |
He did particularly well in the Wingate bike test, which measures a player's explosiveness. The NHL's official Twitter account provided a Vine of the prospective top pick going all out on the bike:
The buildup toward the NHL draft has already been a long process, but the combine was one of the final steps. Per NHL.com's Mike G. Morreale, McDavid is excited about the prospect of finally getting his name called.
"It's been an exciting journey, and I'm surely looking forward to (draft day) getting here," McDavid said. "I know it's going to be a long couple of weeks. There's great anticipation for it, but I'm looking forward to experiencing it with my family and friends. It'll be a dream come true."
McDavid won't have to wait long before he finds out which team he'll be playing for. He is considered the best draft prospect since Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby and perhaps one of the best ever.
His athleticism was on full display at the combine, and it will serve him well when he finally hits the ice for his first NHL game later this year.
Jack Eichel
While most analysts believe McDavid is the clear choice at No. 1, Jack Eichel isn't far behind. The rising American star dominated as a freshman at Boston University en route to winning the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey's best player, and he dominated at the combine as well.
Eichel has long been viewed as a physical freak, and that was apparent in college as he took on older and more mature players. He also performed well against professionals in the World Hockey Championships as he helped Team USA nab a bronze medal.
McDavid and Eichel will be compared to each other throughout their careers, and that started at the combine, where the American was better in almost every workout, according to Sunaya Sapurji of Yahoo Sports:
Here is a more in-depth look at how Eichel fared in the key drills:
| Standing Long Jump | 115" |
| Vertical Jump | 26.181" |
| Pro Agility Left | 4.48 |
| Pro Agility Right | 4.24 |
| Bench Press | 16 |
| Pull-Ups | 9 |
| Wingate (Bike) | 17.42 |
| VO2 (Bike) | 12:15 |
The Buffalo Sabres, who have the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, have to be encouraged by what they saw as he backed up his play on the ice with the physical numbers that elite players often have.
Eichel is aware of where he is likely to land on draft night, and he had great things to say about his future home, according to Morreale.
"It was a great week," Eichel said. "I think it's a great experience. It was just another piece of the season and step toward the draft. I think Buffalo did a great job putting on this event and hats off to the Buffalo Sabres organization and everyone else involved."
While Saturday was all about working out, Eichel also turned heads in the interview process because of something he said to Sabres general manager Tim Murray, per Paul Hamilton of WGR 550:
The combine doesn't tell the story of whether Eichel is a better prospect, but one can only assume that he entered Buffalo with a bit of a chip on his shoulder since he is considered second-best to McDavid.
He used that to his advantage, and he is in line to have a great career if he can continue to perform on the ice.
Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter
.png?w=600 "Latest Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket 👀")
.jpg?w=600 "Updated NFL Draft Big Board 📋")
