2024 NHL Draft Combine Notebook: What we learned

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Over 100 NHL Draft prospects spent the past week in Buffalo trying their best to impress scouts.

We’re just a few weeks away from the festivities at The Sphere in Vegas, and over 100 players hoping to hear their names selected took part in interviews, physical drills, and more. It’s one of the best opportunities to learn about a future NHLer and a chance for some of the guys to show their personalities.

Here’s a look inside at some notable moments from the NHL Draft Combine at the LECOM Harborcenter:

Stian Solberg received some love from scouts and media alike. Seems like many were impressed with the way he interviewed with NHL teams, which could go a long way for someone trying to cement himself as a first-round pick. His play at the World Championship opened some eyes, and his combine definitely helped.
Speaking of Solberg… he said he switched to defense when he was 14 when a teammate peed in a shower and his coach told him to take his place at defense. Yep.
Sticking with Norway, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard showed really well in most of the physical tests. Whether it be the jumps, windgate machine or the sprinting, he was among the top in most categories to kick off the day. As one scout said, “He’s an animal out there.” For what it’s worth, he’s listed at 207 pounds, nine more than the weight published previously by NHL Central Scouting. You could see the pure muscle.
The Colorado Avalanche played board games with the players they talked to. Many of the players said they weren’t sure what the games were exactly, but all seemed to have fun with it. In fact, lots of players talked about the laid-back nature of questioning from teams, with Brandsegg-Nygard saying he spent a lot of time making jokes with management, and said one of the questions he got asked was about how he’d describe the color blue.
Centers are going to be in high demand once again. Michael Hage, projected to go in the first round, talked to 31 of 32 teams. The Tampa Bay Lightning were the only team not to chat with him, but they don’t pick until the fourth round.
The Montreal Canadiens kept their “What animal would you describe yourself as?” question alive again this year. Berkly Catton called himself a dolphin – “Something smart but slippery out there” – and Carter Yakemchuk called him while cheetahs and lions were popular answers.
Speaking of Yakemchuk, he got the most answers of any player for the questions, “Who’s the hardest player to play against?” and “Who’s the most underrated player in this draft class?”
Macklin Celebrini easily pulled off 10 pullups like he does it in his sleep. He’s not huge, but he’s so physically strong. He was listed at 5-foot-11, and made a joke about just missing out on the 6-foot mark.
Cole Hutson was among a small group of players who attended but didn’t participate in the drills. He dealt with an injury heading into the U-18 World Championship, where he officially became the all-time scoring leader among defensemen for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. He did have one of the best answers to the animal question, though: “I picked a narwhal…because they’re rare and one of a kind like me,” while then going on to describe how they have a “pointy nose.”
Adam Jiricek also laid low on the drills, with the Czech defender still dealing with a leg injury at the World Juniors. He said the plan is stay patient wit his development and not rush getting back on the ice. He said he’s keeping up with his brother, David, during his AHL playoff push, too.
Marek Vanacker had surgery for a torn labrum on his left arm on Monday. He says he played with an injury throughout the season but only found out the severity recently after winning gold at the U-18 World Championship. Vanacker said the timeline to return is about 4-6 months.
Zayne Parekh and Sam Dickinson both participated in the drills despite coming off the Memorial Cup final last Sunday. Dickinson said it was important for him to show teams what he’s capable of, even after a long season.
AJ Spellacy said this was his first full year of playing just hockey after also playing as a free safety in football. He said playing football helped him to have a better mindset and become more of a rounded athlete as a whole.
Top-ranked North American goaltender Mikhail Yegorov had one of the best interviews of the combine. I asked him who the toughest players to stop in the USHL and he said Trevor Connelly and Matvei Gridin. But also: “It wasn’t tough to stop Cole Eiserman because I stopped every shot he sent at me. He didn’t score.”
From the media row, it looked like EJ Emery cleared the board they use for the high jump. He had huge numbers in testing, too. He’s a fitness junky and a natural-born athlete – he’s 6-foot-3, took part in track and field competitively in school, and his dad played in the CFL.
No Russian players were present, with many of the biggest names – including Ivan Demidov and Igor Cherynshov, taking part in a mini-camp in Florida the weekend before the draft instead.
Overage defenseman Jesse Pulkkinen, through interpreter and fellow 2024 #NHLDraft prospect Konsta Helenius, said he only started to take hockey seriously and prepare himself to potentially go into the NHL last year. When asked what he thinks of Helenius, he said with a laugh: “Good guy, bad player.”

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2024 NHL Draft Combine Notebook: What we learned

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