NHL Draft Combine Notebook: The best from the final day

Steven Ellis
Steven Ellis
2023 NHL Draft Combine

BUFFALO – The NHL Draft combine is always an interesting time.

The players are tired, but happy. They’re talkative. And the Saturday media availabilities mean they’re wrapping up all the festivities before the real fun begins in Nashville later this month. After today, anything that happens next is out of a player’s hands. So after months of stressing over every little detail, it’s finally time to relax and enjoy the brief time off.

Over 100 players took part in the 2023 NHL Draft combine on Saturday, with a majority chatting with the media throughout the day. Here’s some of the most interesting tidbits from the day:

News & Notes

  • During Friday’s availability, Connor Bedard said he talked to multiple teams, but kept the details to himself. He chatted with a total of six teams, even though it’s clear he’s not falling past Chicago at No. 1. “We just wanted to get to know how his mind thinks,” an NHL scout said.
  • The Montreal Canadiens asked perhaps the most unique question of any team: “which animal would you describe yourself as?” Goaltender Michael Hrabal had maybe the most thoughtful answer: panda off the ice (calm, cool and collected), and a Gorilla on the ice (big, feisty, smart).
  • Hrabal clocked it at 6-foot-6.75, making him the tallest player to participate in the combine.
  • Saskatchewan-born players will be prevalent on the first day of the NHL Draft. Two of the top are Brayden Yager and Riley Heidt, who grew up playing together throughout minor hockey and remain best friends. The two spent the week prior to the combine together in a cabin, fishing and golfing like old times. “(Heidt) is my best buddy,” Yager said. “He’s super competitive, super humble and a guy I love spending time with.”
  • Matteo Mann, the son of Ottawa Senators assistant GM Trent Mann, was a runner during the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo. His job was grabbing players, assisting teams and anything else needed to make the process go smoothly. “I just didn’t want to screw up anything,” Mann said, with a smile. “I still have a draft hat with many of the top player’s signatures on it, like Auston Matthews.”
  • NHL Central Scouting director Dan Marr said Etienne Morin would be his first defenseman taken for the NHL Draft. The Moncton Wildcats defenseman was the 19th-ranked North American skater and is the 59th player on Daily Faceoff’s top 100 list. The skilled, two-way defenseman has 21 goals and 72 points, a huge step up from his 33-point output a year ago.
  • When asked by The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler who the most talented player in the draft is, many players, obviously, said Connor Bedard. The second most common answer? Colby Barlow from the Owen Sound Attack. Barlow led all draft-eligible OHL prospects with 46 goals this year.
  • Slovakian netminder Adam Gajan said he knew he wanted to go to the NCAA a few years ago, but teams in the States didn’t know much about him. He said he filmed his games with GoPros, cut clips together and sent demo reels to teams. The NAHL’s Chippewa Steel took a chance on him and now he’s weeks away from getting drafted.
  • Gavin Brindley, a 5-foot-9 forward, said he has spent a lot of time watching clips of his 205-pound defenseman father, Ryan Brindley. Brindley played nearly a decade in the ECHL, recording 238 points and 646 penalty minutes over nine years. “Our styles were just a little bit different,” the younger Brindley said with a smile.
  • Bedard took part in the physical assessments, while Leo Carlsson and Adam Fantilli sat out. Both players recently finished at the men’s World Hockey Championship just over two weeks ago and elected to take a break with no real time to practice for any of the events.
  • When asked what he knows about Columbus, who holds the No. 3 pick, Carlsson said: “Well, I know where it is on a map.”
  • There was no shortage of people who think Matthew Wood could be a top 10 pick. “He’s got all the traits to be a big-time NHLer. A team is going to look so smart taking him early,” a scout from a team drafting later in the first round said.
  • Andrew Cristall on his close friendship with Bedard: “We go way back, and we started playing spring hockey together when we were about six or seven. We grew up together, going through the ranks a little bit. It’s been pretty special to share that moment with him here this year.”
  • More Cristall, who spoke to 21 teams: “I try and get different release points and learning how to change the angle a little bit. It’s been good being able to learn from Connor. I think it’s definitely helped my shot tremendously.”

Fun & Games

Teams tend to ask players more funny and non-hockey-related questions to try and get a look into their mindset. I decided to ask players what they’d buy if they had a million dollars, and here’s a few of the results:

  • Carey Terrance: “A boat, and take my family on it and go fishing.”
  • Nico Myatovic: “A digital golf machine. They’re expensive and I like to golf.”
  • Carson Bjarnason: “A used car. Just something that gets me from Point A to Point B.”
  • Zach Benson: “Air Jordans. I collect sneakers.”
  • Luca Cagnoni: “Jordans, obviously. I like to collect them.”
  • Theo Lindstein: “A nice car, for sure. Maybe a Lamborghini or a Ferrari.”
  • Caden Price: “I’d probably save a lot of it and do something for my family… maybe buy a decked-out truck.”
  • Sawyer Mynio: “I’d buy a Corvette… (reporter: Really?)… yeah, I just think it’s cool. My Dad likes them, too.”
  • Gavin Brindley: “Probably a fishing boat or a surf boat… I’d have to bring my buddy (New Jersey Devils prospect) Seamus Casey with me.”
  • Eduard Sale: “Bring my family to lunch or dinner. Nothing too crazy.”
  • Jakub Dvorak: “It would be some kind of Lamborghini or something like that. A cool car, for sure.”
  • Jakub Stancl: “I got my driver’s license just a few days ago… I like BMWs.”
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