The 2024 Combine will be held at LECOM Harborcenter in Buffalo from June 2 to 8. Dozens of Draft-eligible hopefuls will undergo interviews with potentially interested NHL clubs, as well as a battery of physical texts and a medical examination.
Many of the top prospects for the 2024 Draft are likely to attend. This includes the likes of projected first overall pick Macklin Celebrini, big-framed forward Cayden Lindstrom, highly skilled centers Tij Iginla and Berkly Catton, defensemen Zeev Buium and Zayne Parekh, Finnish standout Konsta Helenius, and others.
Last year, London Knights defenseman Oliver Bonk was among the participants at the Combine. Weeks later, the Flyers selected him with the 22nd overall pick of the first round in the 2023 Draft. Likewise, London teammate Denver Barkey (chosen by the Flyers in the third round, 95th overall), Brandon Wheat Kings goaltender Carson Bjarnason selected by Philadelphia in the second round, 51st overall), and Slovakian prospect Alex Ciernik (chosen by Philly in the fourth round, 120th overall) were among the eventual draftees who underwent the rigorous testing.
It is less common for players from the Russian Federation to attend the Combine. Last year, highly touted Matvei Michkov did not attend the Combine. However, he attended the Draft itself, where he was selected by the Flyers with the seventh overall pick. This year, top prospects from the KHL include right winger Ivan Demidov and defenseman Anton Silayev.
The annual pre-Draft showcase does not radically change clubs' final internal rankings for the Entry Draft. However, it does enable teams to do some fine tuning by learning a little more about the players from both a physical and medical perspective (such as providing up-to-date information on a rehabilitated injury from the past season) as well as from a personality standpoint.
"The Combine alone usually doesn't have a major impact on our rankings," Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr said shortly after last year's Combine. "It's more about fine-tuning some of the information we collected during the season."
Most of the physical testing phase of the Combine takes place on a single day. The tests include standing height/wingspan, standing horizontal jump, force plate vertical jump, bench press, pro agility test, pull ups, and the dreaded Wingate Cycle Ergometer test.
During the interview portion, teams schedule interviews in blocs. Whether or not a player interviews with a team does not necessarily predict if that club will ultimately select that player at the Draft. For example, the Flyers did not interview Sean Couturier at the 2011 Combine but ultimately chose him with the eighth overall pick of the Entry Draft.
The medical testing is useful to teams in terms of getting updated information about injuries that took place over the season. For example, many clubs will be interested in updates on back and hand injuries sustained by 2024 top prospect Lindstrom.
