For the first 20-plus years of its existence the NHL Scouting Combine was held in hotel ballrooms and convention centers in a large Canadian metropolitan city that likes to call itself "The Centre of the Hockey Universe," which happens to be home to the NHL offices and NHL Central Scouting Services.
The idea for the Combine was basically a two-fold approach where teams could get an up close and personal look at prospects eligible for the upcoming draft. During the week long Combine teams will conduct player interviews with an expected 120 or so players this year (for a full list, click
here) before attention is directed a the players' physical attributes. One-on-one interviews are set to take place June 1-5, with individual medical examines on June 4 followed by endurance and fitness testing on be June 6th.
"The goal is to present an event that allows NHL personnel to interact with the future stars of our game and assist the NHL clubs in their pursuit of gaining as much knowledge about the draft prospects as possible," said Dan Marr, the Director of NHL Central Scouting of the event.
The announcement of the move from stuffy hotels in the Toronto area to HARBORCENTER and First Niagara Center in Buffalo for the next two years was made last summer. “The NHL Combine is an essential event for all of our Member Clubs in advance of the Draft, which continues to grow in importance,” said Colin Campbell, senior executive vice president of NHL Hockey Operations. “The League has pushed to improve the Combine each year and the state-of-the-art facilities in Buffalo will allow us to further enhance the quality of the event for our teams, prospects and media.”
Just like the NHL Draft that moved from the hotel rooms of Montreal, Quebec in 1963 to arenas across the country while increasing it's exposure, the NHL hopes that their annual Combine can reach event status with extended media coverage. The move to the facilities in Buffalo should help it take a major evolutionary step.
"The Combine not only is moving to the new HARBORCENTER but it is also implementing a new format and testing as a result of a Combine review that was conducted with the 30 NHL clubs," Marr said. "The fitness testing will be moved into an arena offering an increased viewing area, better sight lines and live result monitors, allowing for the testing to be captured on video."
HARBORCENTER was the brainchild of Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula. Upon purchasing the Buffalo Sabres in February, 2011 the Pegulas set in motion their vision for Buffalo as a hockey destination. Originally priced at $123 million, HARBORCENTER joined the First Niagara Center, home to the Buffalo Sabres, as the engines to the revitalization of downtown Buffalo. "This project will further enhance the current development at Canalside and in the process, create a destination attraction to draw hundreds of thousands of people to Buffalo’s waterfront on a yearly basis," said Terry Pegula upon winning the bid to develop the area. "Canalside has seen a rebirth the past few years and we expect our project to act as a catalyst for future development on the waterfront."
The two-rink facility, with 6100 sq. ft. of locker room space, a 50-seat classroom complete with telestrater, and a theater with tiered seating for 40 is home to the Buffalo Junior Sabres, Canisius College, and Erie Community College. HARBORCENTER is also home to the Academy of Hockey featuring programs "dedicated to being the premier development destination for hockey players and coaches." Still less than a year old HARBORCENTER has already hosted the 2015 IIHF U-18 Women's World Championships and the 2015 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships.
The NHL was impressed enough with what Buffalo had to offer that they awarded the Combine to the city for the next two years. “We will see how it goes, but I view this to be the natural evolution of this program,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly wrote in an email to The Associated Press. “I don’t see this moving backward.”
Sabres president Ted Black was at the forefront in the push for the event with the team agreeing to pick up some of the NHL costs. Said Black at the announcement of the showcase being awarded to Buffalo, "We’ve had our eye on hosting the Combine for quite some time. [The Pegulas] have made it a goal of this organization to create an environment here in Buffalo that is ideal for hosting highly visible events like the Combine. We’re proud to have the next wave of NHL players pass through Buffalo.”
Two of those players are Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel, the all but certain top two picks in this year's draft and both have already stepped foot on the First Niagara Center Ice. On September 25, 2014, Eichel and Team Grier defeated Team Olcyzk 6-3 at the Third Annual CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game in front of 7,310 fans while a month later, McDavid and his Erie Otters defeated the Niagara Ice Dogs 8-4 in front of 11,391 for an OHL game.
Other top picks in the 2015 NHL Draft who had the opportunity to play on the First Niagara ice were defensemen Noah Hanifin and Zach Werenski in the prospects game and Dylan Strome for the Otters.
Although skating is not a part of the physical tests right now, it could/should be in the future, and having three NHL rinks at their disposal in Buffalo should be very appealing to the NHL. The sticking point with having on-ice testing, however, is that the various hockey seasons end a different times. While the NCAA's Frozen Four finished in early April, the CHL's Memorial Cup will finish today. But having the camera on prospects as they go through on-ice drills might have too much public appeal to pass up any longer.
Former NHL'er Kris Draper, who's a special assistant to Red Wings GM Ken Holland in Detroit referenced the NFL's Combine in Indianapolis, IN which draws wide interest from fans. “We’re playing a little catch-up with the NFL combine, obviously,” he said. “You’d like to think that one day (the NHL combine) becomes a media-driven event as well. The bigger that it can get, the more recognition it can get, the better it is for our sport.”
Having the Combine in Buffalo is a good start as it can move the event from hotel ballrooms and convention areas to hockey-specific arenas in a hockey-centric downtown hub. And instead of it getting lost in the big city swirl of Toronto, it can now be a centerpiece for a smaller city. The facilities are in place for the team and the city to put on a good show and there's also a rabid hockey fan base in Buffalo that can rival most Canadian markets as evidenced by 8725 fans showing up for the Sabres Development Camp scrimmage in mid-July last year.
Next year will be even better for the team and the city as June will be Draft-month for Buffalo. In addition to the NHL awarding the 2016 Draft Combine to Buffalo, they also awarded the city the 2016 NHL Draft itself.
"It sounds like the Sabres and [owner] Terry Pegula have done an outstanding job putting this together," said Edmonton Oilers head amateur scout Stu MacGregor. "The development in and around First Niagara Center and the fitness facilities available to the players to perform the tests will be outstanding. It'll be great to see that whole thing come together. It's a very exciting time around Buffalo and I'm looking forward to this."
Us too.
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