Top Prospects to Watch at the 2024 NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo
Sportsgrid Staff
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Macklin Celebrini, the projected top pick for the 2024 NHL Draft, is among the 100 prospects invited to the 2024 NHL Scouting Combine at KeyBank Center and LECOM HarborCenter in Buffalo, starting Monday.
“The NHL Combine is a rite of passage on a player’s path to the NHL and is an event that NHL clubs and prospects look forward to participating in," said Dan Marr, the director of NHL Central Scouting.
The combine, running from June 3-8, provides the 32 NHL teams with physical and medical assessments of the top prospects ahead of the 2024 draft, which will take place at Sphere in Las Vegas on June 28-29.
“The NHL combine is the final showcase event before the NHL draft. It’s a week full of interviews, medicals, and fitness testing where players get to interact with NHL personnel, and clubs learn as much as possible about the future stars of our game," Marr added.
The combine will feature 62 forwards, 35 defensemen, and three goalies, all listed in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings of North American and International skaters and goaltenders.
NHL Central Scouting is providing an app for all attending prospects to download, containing all the information needed to navigate interviews with NHL teams, medical exams, and fitness tests. Teams will conduct 1-on-1 interviews with prospects at KeyBank Center from June 3-7. Medical examinations are scheduled for June 5, with seven of the 11 fitness tests occurring at HarborCenter on June 8, including standing height/wingspan, horizontal jump, force plate vertical jumps, bench press, pro agility test, pull-ups, and Wingate Cycle Ergometer test. Players must clear medical screening before testing.
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Celebrini (6-foot, 190 pounds), a left-handed center from Boston University, is ranked No. 1 on Central Scouting’s final ranking of North American skaters. The San Jose Sharks, who won the NHL Draft Lottery on May 7, hold the No. 1 pick, with the Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks selecting second and third, respectively.
At 17, Celebrini was the youngest player to win the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the top NCAA men’s hockey player. He ranked second in the NCAA with 32 goals and third with 64 points in 38 games.
Also attending the Combine is Michigan State right-handed defenseman Artyom Levshunov (6-2, 208lbs), ranked No. 2 among North American skaters. The 18-year-old was second nationally among freshmen defensemen and tied for 10th among all defensemen with 35 points (nine goals, 26 assists) in 38 games.
Cayden Lindstrom (6-3, 210lbs), ranked No. 3 among North American skaters, is one of 10 combine invites projected as first-round picks from the Western Hockey League. The 18-year-old Medicine Hat center will be highly sought after during the interview process, despite missing 36 regular-season games due to surgery for an upper-body injury. Before his injury, Lindstrom had 46 points (27 goals, 19 assists) in 32 games and added two points (one goal, one assist) in four WHL playoff games.
Konsta Helenius (5-11, 180lbs), ranked No. 3 on Central Scouting’s final ranking of International skaters, is the highest-ranked skater among the 25 International players invited to the combine. The right-shot center scored 36 points (14 goals, 22 assists) in 51 games for Jukurit in Liiga, Finland’s top professional men’s league.
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