52 CHL players invited to 2017 NHL Scouting Combine

52 CHL players have been invited to the 2017 NHL Scouting Combine that is being held from Monday May 29th to Saturday June 3rd at First Niagara Center and the nearby HarborCenter in Buffalo, NY.

The list of CHL invitees includes 36 forwards, 13 defencemen and three goaltenders. CHL talent represents 50% of the 104 players invited to attend the event.

Top CHL draft eligible talent invited includes Brandon Wheat Kings forward Nolan Patrick, Halifax Mooseheads centreman Nico Hischier 2017 Mastercard Memorial Cup champion Gabriel Vilardi of the Windsor Spitfires along with teammate Michael DiPietro in goal. On the blue line, WHL rearguards Cal Foote of the Kelowna Rockets and Juuso Valimaki of the Tri-City Americans headline the CHL’s list of attendees.

The NHL Scouting Combine provides an opportunity for teams to meet and interview prospects as well as see them physically tested in an off-ice setting.

Of the 52 CHL players invited, 22 come from both the Ontario Hockey League and Western Hockey League while an additional eight are from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

The highly-anticipated portion of the combine – fitness testing – is set to take place Friday and Saturday at the HarborCenter in Buffalo. Saturday’s fitness testing can be seen live on Sportsnet.ca from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET/ 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. MT.

Friday’s testing will feature four different evaluations, including y-balance, function movement screen, grip strength and aerobic fitness (VO2 max).

Saturday’s testing will feature seven different evaluations, including standing height, wingspan, standing long jump, jump station, bench press, pro agility test and pull ups.

CHL PLAYERS ATTENDING THE 2017 NHL SCOUTING COMBINE:

Forwards (36):
Jarret Anderson-Dolan (Spokane Chiefs)
Sasha Chmelevski (Ottawa 67’s)
Maxime Comtois (Victoriaville Tigres)
MacKenzie Entwistle (Hamilton Bulldogs)
Alex Formenton (London Knights)
Morgan Frost (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)
Jonah Gadjovich (Owen Sound Attack)
Zach Gallant (Peterborough Petes)
Morgan Geekie (Tri-City Americans)
Cody Glass (Portland Winterhawks)
Nick Henry (Regina Pats)
Aleksi Heponiemi (Swift Current Broncos)
Nico Hischier (Halifax Mooseheads)
D’Artagnan Joly (Baie-Comeau Drakkar)
Pavel Koltygin (Drummondville Voltigeurs)
Jake Leschyshyn (Regina Pats)
Kole Lind (Kelowna Rockets)
Ivan Lodnia (Erie Otters)
Stelio Mattheos (Brandon Wheat Kings)
Antoine Morand (Acadie-Bathurst Titan)
Nolan Patrick (Brandon Wheat Kings)
Nikita Popugaev (Prince George Cougars)
Michael Rasmussen (Tri-City Americans)
Isaac Ratcliffe (Guelph Storm)
Jason Robertson (Kingston Frontenacs)
Adam Ruzicka (Sarnia Sting)
Mason Shaw (Medicine Hat Tigers)
Matthew Strome (Hamilton Bulldogs)
Jack Studnicka (Oshawa Generals)
Nick Suzuki (Owen Sound Attack)
Joel Teasdale (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada)
Robert Thomas (London Knights)
Owen Tippett (Mississauga Steelheads)
Gabriel Vilardi (Windsor Spitfires)
Kailer Yamamoto (Spokane Chiefs)
Lane Zablocki (Red Deer Rebels)

Defencemen (13):
Josh Brook (Moose Jaw Warriors)
Antoine Crete-Belzile (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada)
Cale Fleury (Kootenay ICE)
Cal Foote (Kelowna Rockets)
Nicolas Hague (Mississauga Steelheads)
Henri Jokiharju (Portland Winterhawks)
Pierre-Olivier Joseph (Charlottetown Islanders)
Jacob Paquette (Kingston Frontenacs)
Eemeli Rasanen (Kingston Frontenacs)
Dmitri Samorukov (Guelph Storm)
Conor Timmins (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)
Jarret Tyszka (Seattle Thunderbirds)
Juuso Valimaki (Tri-City Americans)

Goaltenders (3):
Michael DiPietro (Windsor Spitfires)
Ian Scott (Prince Albert Raiders)
Stuart Skinner (Lethbridge Hurricanes)