The Memorial Cup champion will be crowned tonight in Saskatoon. Nathan MacInnon and Jonathon Droiun of the Halifax Mooseheads will do battle with Seth Jones and Ty Rattie of the Portland Winterhawks. The winning team will have very little time to celebrate the accomplishment. The puck will drop on the annual NHL Combine bright and early on Monday morning in Toronto. It will run through to June 1. This year's combine will feature a brilliant array of young stars. This draft reminds many observers of the star-studded 2003 entry draft.
Take a look at how rich with talent the 2003 entry draft was:
Round 1 2003 NHL Entry Draft
Round # Drafted By Player Position Drafted From
1 1 Pittsburgh Marc-Andre Fleury G Cape Breton Screaming Eagles [QMJHL]
1 2 Carolina Eric Staal C Peterborough Petes [OHL]
1 3 Florida Nathan Horton C Oshawa Generals [OHL]
1 4 Columbus Nikolai Zherdev R CSKA Moscow [Russia]
1 5 Buffalo Thomas Vanek R U. of Minnesota [WCHA]
1 6 San Jose Milan Michalek L Ceske Budejovice HC [Czech]
1 7 Nashville Ryan Suter D U.S. Junior National Team [Intl]
1 8 Atlanta Braydon Coburn D Portland Winter Hawks [WHL]
1 9 Calgary Dion Phaneuf D Red Deer Rebels [WHL]
1 10 Montreal Andrei Kostitsyn R CSKA Moscow [Russia]
1 11 Philadelphia Jeff Carter C Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds [OHL]
1 12 NY Rangers Hugh Jessiman R Dartmouth College [ECAC]
1 13 Los Angeles Dustin Brown R Guelph Storm [OHL]
1 14 Chicago Brent Seabrook D Lethbridge Hurricanes [WHL]
1 15 NY Islanders Robert Nilsson C Leksands IF [SEL]
1 16 San Jose Steve Bernier R Moncton Wildcats [QMJHL]
1 17 New Jersey Zach Parise C U. of North Dakota [WCHA]
1 18 Washington Eric Fehr R Brandon Wheat Kings [WHL]
1 19 Anaheim Ryan Getzlaf C Calgary Hitmen [WHL]
1 20 Minnesota Brent Burns D Brampton Battalion [OHL]
1 21 Boston Mark Stuart D Colorado College [WCHA]
1 22 Edmonton Marc-Antoine Pouliot C Rimouski Oceanic [QMJHL]
1 23 Vancouver Ryan Kesler C Ohio State University [CCHA]
1 24 Philadelphia Mike Richards C Kitchener Rangers [OHL]
1 25 Florida Anthony Stewart R Kingston Frontenacs [OHL]
1 26 Los Angeles Brian Boyle C St. Sebastian's [Mass. H.S.]
1 27 Los Angeles Jeff Tambellini L U. of Michigan [CCHA]
1 28 Anaheim Corey Perry R London Knights [OHL]
1 29 Ottawa Patrick Eaves R Boston College [H-East]
1 30 St. Louis Shawn Belle D Tri-City Americans [WHL]
Some NHL draft experts are predicting that the 2013 NHL entry draft will produce MORE NHl stars and difference-makers than the 2003 entry draft.
The Buffalo Sabres will be front and center as they hold four picks in the top 55, including numbers 8, 16, 33, and 55. Darcy Regier, Kevin Devine, and the Sabres scouts will observe each prospect in their fitness testing sessions, then , will spend quality time with them in break-out sessions.
According to the NHL, Central Scouting Service is anticipating 86 North American players total, including the top seven goalies from its final ranking of North American goaltenders. The top 15 European prospects, including top-ranked goalie Juuse Saros, also have been invited.
Here's the full list 101 prospects that have been invited to take part in the NHL Scouting Combine:
Top-ranked North American skaters:
Rank - Player Team (League) Position
1 - Seth Jones Portland (WHL) D
2 - Nathan MacKinnon Halifax (QMJHL) C
3 - Jonathan Drouin Halifax (QMJHL) LW
4 - Darnell Nurse Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) D
5 - Sean Monahan Ottawa (OHL) C
6 - Hunter Shinkaruk Medicine Hat (WHL) C/LW
7 - Valentin Zykov Baie - Comeau (QMJHL) LW
8 - Frederik Gauthier Rimouski (QMJHL) C
9 - Mirco Mueller Everett (WHL) D
10 - Anthony Mantha Val - d'Or (QMJHL) RW
11 - Shea Theodore Seattle (WHL) D
12 - Ryan Pulock Brandon (WHL) D
13 - Zach Nastasiuk Owen Sound (OHL) RW
14 - Chris Bigras Owen Sound (OHL) D
15 - Bo Horvat London (OHL) C
16 - Ryan Hartman Plymouth (OHL) RW
17 - Kerby Rychel Windsor (OHL) LW
18 - Wiliam Carrier Cape Breton (QMJHL) LW
19 - Max Domi London (OHL) C/LW
20 - Curtis Lazar Edmonton (WHL) C/LW
21 - James Lodge Saginaw (OHL) C
22 - Nikita Zadorov London (OHL) D
23 - Samuel Morin Rimouski (QMJHL) D
24 - Ian McCoshen Waterloo (USHL) D
25 - Morgan Klimchuk Regina (WHL) LW
26 - Adam Erne Quebec (QMJHL) LW
27 - Joshua Morrissey Prince Albert (WHL) D
28 - Laurent Dauphin Chicoutimi (QMJHL) C
29 - Jon Hayden USA U - 18 (USHL) C
30 - Jason Dickinson Guelph (OHL) C
31 - Dillon Heatherington Swift Current (WHL) D
32 - Madison Bowey Kelowna (WHL) D
33 - Nicolas Petan Portland (WHL) C
34 - JT Compher USA U - 18 (USHL) LW
35 - Michael McCarron USA U - 18 (USHL) RW
36 - Oliver Bjorkstrand Portland (WHL) RW
37 - Jonathan - Ismael Diaby Victoriaville (QMJHL) D
38 - Justin Bailey Kitchener (OHL) RW
39 - Emile Poirier Gatineau (QMJHL) LW
40 - Brett Pesce New Hampshire (H - East) D
41 - Eric Roy Brandon (WHL) D
42 - Adam Tambellini Surrey (BCHL) C
43 - Jan Kostalek Rimouski (QMJHL) D
44 - Thomas Vanelli Minnetonka (High - Mn) D
45 - Connor Hurley Edina High (High - Mn) C
46 - Myles Bell Kelowna (WHL) LW
47 - Steven Santini USA U - 18 (USHL) D
48 - Nick Sorensen Quebec (QMJHL) RW
49 - Michael Downing Dubuque (USHL) D
50 - Yan Pavel Laplante PEI (QMJHL) C
51 - Gustav Olofsson Green Bay (USHL) D
52 - Gabryel Paquin - Boudreau Baie - Comeau (QMJHL) LW
53 - Keaton Thompson USA U - 18 (USHL) D
54 - Marc - Olivier Roy Blainville - Boisbriand (QMJHL) C
55 - Jordan Subban Belleville (OHL) D
56 - Ryan Fitzgerald Valley (EJHL) C
57 - Anthony Duclair Quebec (QMJHL) LW
58 - Nick Moutrey Saginaw (OHL) C/LW
59 - Mason Geertsen Vancouver (WHL) D
60 - Zachary Sanford Islanders (EJHL) LW
61 - Nicholas Baptiste Sudbury (OHL) RW
62 - Sean Malone USA U - 18 (USHL) C
63 - Ryan Kujawinski Kingston (OHL) C
64 - Teemu Kivihalme Burnsville (High - Mn) D
65 - Jackson Houck Vancouver (WHL) RW
66 - Tyler Lewington Medicine Hat (WHL) D
67 - David Pope West Kelowna (BCHL) LW
68 - Alexandre Coulombe Stanstead College (High - Qc) D
69 - Michell Wheaton Kelowna (WHL) D
70 - Hudson Fasching USA U - 18 (USHL) RW
71 - Remi Elie London (OHL) LW
72 - Kurt Etchegary Quebec (QMJHL) C
73 - Vincent Dunn Val - d'Or (QMJHL) C
74 - Dylan Labbe Shawinigan (QMJHL) D
75 - Anthony Florentino South Kent School (High - Ct) D
76 - Spenser Jensen Medicine Hat (WHL) D
77 - Avery Peterson Grand Rapids (High - Mn) C
78 - Ty Stanton Medicine Hat (WHL) D
79 - Jeremy Gregoire Baie - Comeau (QMJHL) C
Goaltenders:
1 - Zachary Fucale Halifax (QMJHL) G
2 - Eric Comrie Tri - City (WHL) G
3 - Tristan Jarry Edmonton (WHL) G
4 - Calvin Petersen Waterloo (USHL) G
5 - Spencer Martin Mississauga (OHL) G
6 - Eamon McAdam Waterloo (USHL) G
7 - Philippe Desrosiers Rimouski (QMJHL) G
Top-ranked European skaters:
Rank - Player Team (League) Position
1 - Aleksander Barkov Tappara (Finland) C
2 - Valeri Nichushkin Chelyabinsk (Russia) RW
3 - Elias Lindholm Brynas (Sweden) C
4 - Rasmus Ristolainen TPS (Finland) D
5 - Alexander Wennberg Djurgarden (Sweden) C
6 - Andre Burakovsky Malmo (Sweden) LW
7 - Jacob De La Rose Leksand (Sweden) LW
8 - Robert Hagg Modo Jr. (Sweden) D
9 - Artturi Lehkonen Kalpa (Finland) LW
10 - Pavel Buchnevich Cherepovets 2 (Russia) LW
11 - Bogdan Yakimov Nizhnekamsk 2 (Russia) C
12 - Marko Dano Bratislava (Russia) C
13 - Linus Arnesson Djurgarden (Sweden) D
14 - Viktor Crus Rydberg Linkoping Jr. (Sweden) C
Goaltender:
1 - Juuse Saros HPK Jr. (Finland) G
The Combine format:
The event is divided into two parts:
1). The interview phase will be held May 27th-30th
2). The fitness test phase will be held May 31st and June 1 at the Toronto International Centre and will be headed by Dr. Norman Gledhill and his staff at York University.
Two Sabres targets will not be participating in the fitness testing as they recover from offseason surgeries.
Aleksander Barkov, the top-ranked European prospect, of Tappara in Finland and Darnell Nurse (4th ranked north American prospect) of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds have been excused from the fitness testing phase, however, both players will undergo medical examinations and will be interviewed by NHL teams.
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