The Hockey Junkies Combine

So, the 2012 NHL Draft Combine took place this last week in Toronto, putting 105 of the NHL's top prospects through rigorous physical and mental testing. It's pretty much the worst part of the drafting process for any kid... as illustrated by this video, sent to me by Shanny on the tweeter.
 

Losing your breakfast is like a rite of passage at the NHL combine. The Wingate (Peak Power Output) and the VO2 Max are notoriously the worst possible exercises you can go through.

And don't forget the team interviews, where every year there are at least a few questions that make you go "Whaaaat?" - The best ones I heard were "Are you wasting our time" and the common "Do you have a boyfriend". Anything to throw these kids off! It's like a weird form of torture. But to a man I think their feelings on the combine are "Whatever it takes".

We know we've already mentioned the combine in a post but there have been so many pictures and videos about it coming out that we figured it deserved it's own.

One of the best parts about the combine for us are the lovely pictures we get of the boys during their torture. Here's some of our favourites:

Henrik Samuelsson (WHL Edmonton) (CSS #75 NA)

Morgan Reilly (WHL Moose Jaw) (CSS #5 NA)

Colton Sissons (WHL Kelowna) (CSS #14 NA)

Ryan Murray (WHL Everett) (CSS #2 NA)

Nail Yakupov (OHL Sarnia) (CSS #1 NA)

Here at the Hockey Junkies we're known for putting our boys through rigorous testing, too. Players are studied and scrutinized and ranked in the most scientific ways by the highest trained professionals.

(AKA- We base everything on looks and the combine portraits we like.)

So here are our combine results... the top 10 NHL Draft Combine Portraits.

#01. Ryan Murray (WHL Everett) (CSS #2 NA)

He's classically handsome with a serious face and nice hair. We also really like that he's a defenseman and has pretty blue eyes and yeah, well, it's a nice combine portrait.


#02. Filip Forsberg (SEL Div I Leksands) (CSS #1 EU)

He's listed as a Swede but we're not so sure. It must be the face or something. But then we saw the hair and then we knew. He has the Swedish perfectly-coiffed and fluffy hair.


#03. Malcolm Subban (OHL Belleville) (CSS #1 NA Goaltender)

Definitely the more attractive Subban. We're thinking that it gets better down the line for the brothers so maybe the youngest will be the best looking.


#04. Artur Gavrus (OHL Owen Sound) (CSS #60 NA)

He is busting outta his shirt. Busting out. Look at those chest muscles? How is that an eighteen-year-old? Life isn't fair at times.


#05. Vyacheslav Osnovin (MHL Chelyabinsk) (CSS #13 EU)

He looks like Chris Pratt from 'Parks and Recreation' and 'Moneyball'. Doesn't he? It isn't just us, right? So obviously he's adorable.


#06. Morgan Reilly (WHL Moose Jaw) (CSS #5 NA)

Definitely has an Alan Tudyk-look about him. Right? Must be the slight ginger thing he has going on.


#07. Alex Galchenyuk (OHL Sarnia) (CSS #4 NA)

He's a secret American. During our research, we found out that he is a child of the world in a way, growing up on basically every continent except Antarctica.


#08. Griffin Reinhart (WHL Edmonton) (CSS #10 NA)

Hmm, he has a weird head to body ratio but it's one that we could probably live with in a way because his face is like stupid but attractive. Or at least Noodles thinks so...of course. And Curtis has a soft spot for any and all Oil Kings.


#09. Frank Palazzese (OHL Kitchener) (CSS #9 NA Goaltender )

"Hey, how you doin'?" Doesn't that look like that's what he's saying? It does. It might be because of the eyebrows or something. He must get them done with Zach Bogosian.


#10. Radek Faksa (OHL Kitchener) (CSS #7 NA)

Okay, who in their right mind makes a face like that in their combine portraits? He looks like a ventriloquist's dummy. No, seriously, he does.


(These were the portraits that we could find and we hope you liked our in-depth analysis.)

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Additional Links:

-Full combine results and recap video

-Full NHL Central Scouting (CSS) draft rankings

-The top prospects argue why they should be the number one pick

-Player Blogs: Matt Dumba (WHL Red Deer) - Alex Galchenyuk (OHL Sarnia) - Ryan Murray (WHL Everett) - Jacob Trouba (US NTDP)