Is it just me, or was Saturday's coverage of the fitness testing from the NHL Scouting Combine a bit underwhelming?
I tuned in for about an hour of Sportsnet's livestream. It seemed to mostly be focused on the network's talking heads while the prospects executed their tests in the background. I didn't come away with any kind of a feel for which players did well or poorly, or who might have exceeded expectations.
The lead story on
NHL.com's coverage is about Liam Kirk, ranked 65th among international skaters but important because he's the first player born and trained in England ever to take part in the combine.
I like the Great Britain story: they've been promoted to the top level at the 2019 World Championship after winning the Division 1 championship this year, and Kirk was part of that team. But I'm looking for more information to separate that group of defensemen that will probably be getting snapped up in the range where the Canucks will be picking, at seven.
We do, at least, have presumed first-overall pick Rasmus Dahlin on the tough bike test:
As you can see, the format for the bike test has changed. It's now short bursts of maximum effort, followed by brief recovery periods, for 45 seconds.
"The breaks between the bikes was really tough," Slovak defenseman Martin Fehervary told NHL.com. "A little bit different. Last year, it goes all the way 30 seconds; now it's 10, five rest, then go again five, stuff like that. It was tough."
A group of seven top prospects will be making the rounds with the media on Monday before and during Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. In alphabetical order, that group is made up of Evan Bouchard, Rasmus Dahlin, Noah Dobson, Quintin Hughes, Andrei Svechnikov, Brady Tkachuk and Filip Zadina.
The Canucks pick seventh. Is their guy on that list?
Of the defenseman, it's pretty safe to assume that Dahlin won't land in Vancouver's wheelhouse. Quinn Hughes did go through interviews in Buffalo, but didn't take part in the fitness testing as he has just returned from the World Championship. I've had a hard time getting my legs back under me since arriving home, and am still struggling with a classic post-travel cold, so I'm fully on board with Quinn's decision.
If you'd like to hear from him, Dahlin and Zadina, check out the latest episode of The Full 60 podcast from Craig Custance of The Athletic:
In
this NHL.com article, Mike G. Morreale reports that both Evan Bouchard and Noah Dobson tested well.
For you pull-up fans, Bouchard tied for second overall with 14. He was also 16th in the bench press.
Despite the fact that his season ended less that a week ago, with a Memorial Cup win as part of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, Dobson did well in a number of leg exercises. He tied for 10th in the standing long jump and also finished strongly in the force plate squat jump and no-arm jumps.
Adam Boqvist is one of the smaller blueliners.
Boqvist finished 11th in the bench press. He and Dobson also both showed well in the anaerobic testing.
Since he didn't participate in the fitness testing, I haven't seen any reports of Quinn Hughes getting weighed and measured, but he's on the small side, too. He was listed at 5'9" and 168 pounds on the Team USA roster at the World Championship.
If you haven't watched it yet, check out the Canucks' video of their scouting meetings. It doesn't offer insight into any individual players, but does give us a peek behind the curtain at the draft process.
Jim Benning emphasizes that he is going to try to get more picks, so it's crucial for the scouting group to have a complete list so they'll know how they feel about players at any point in the draft, not only the ones that cluster around their current pick positions.
Lots more draft chatter to come between now and June 22!
To wrap up today, a little more food for thought on the rumour that the Canucks are interested in defenseman Noah Hanifin of the Carolina Hurricanes:
Does it make sense that the Hurricanes would be interested in Demko? For sure. There's definitely work that needs to be done at the goaltending position in Carolina.
That's not to say that I think the Canucks should make that deal. Vancouver's goaltending situation's not that different from Carolina's—somewhat unsettled, as we wait for Demko to be ready to become a full-time starter. I like this idea even less that I like the idea of trading the seventh pick.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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