Comments on the 2010 NHL Combine list

The list of the 100 invitees to the NHL Combine in Toronto came out a few days ago. A few comments on it.

I've watched OHL, USHL and NCAA games this season, and no one jumped out at me as missing from this list. I was mildly surprised that Philip Grubauer or Nick Mattson weren't on it. Mattson (Indiana) came on strong very late in the year, so he got off a lot of radars. Grubauer's draft potential has a lot to do with how he performs for Windsor in the OHL playoffs. So far so good. Josh Shalla wasn't on the list -- it looks like people are starting to see what I saw in February.

The list was light on USHLers, just four, which doesn't surprise me because I think this is a bad year for the USHL. Even the four who were invited are not exceptional.

Only two guys invited were eligible last year and went unselected - Brandon Davidson of Regina and Jonathan Johansson of Sweden. Johansson is a June birthday and Davidson is an August birthday.

Last year, eight guys who were invited to the Combine were not drafted. The highest drafted guys who didn't attend the Combine went 31st and 35th. The World Championships and the CHL playoffs can really affect someone's draft position, and this list comes out before either of them.
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