Five players from New England are at this week’s NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo ahead of the NHL Entry draft, being held July 7-8 in Montreal.
While Shane Wright, Logan Cooley and Juraj Slafkovsky are the projected top three picks, a slew of other prospects are looking to impress NHL organizations at the combine. Whether it be through the physical aspect of the combine testing or interviews, prospects have a chance to upgrade their stock.
The New England region is well represented at the event by a quality group of prospects expected to provide depth throughout the seven-round lottery.
Northeastern center Jack Hughes (Westwood, Mass.), Green Bay Gamblers (USHL) center Cam Lund (Bridgewater, Mass.), St. Mark’s defenseman Michael Fisher (Westboro, Mass.), U.S. NTDP U-18 defenseman Charlie Leddy (Fairfield, Conn.), and Nobles center Ben MacDonald (Weston, Mass.) all are in Buffalo to partake in the annual festivities. All local prospects are ranked inside the New England Hockey Journal's top-15 for the NHL draft.
Seven other players with ties to the region are in Buffalo, as well, including Avon Old Farms center Brennan Ali, a Notre Dame commit. Excluding South Kent alum David Goyette, who is in the OHL, Ali is the only player of the 12 committed to a Beanpot school. Northeastern has four recruits or current players at the combine while Boston College, Boston University and Harvard each have two.
New Englanders at NHL Scouting Combine
Michael Fisher, D, St. Mark’s (Northeastern)
Jack Hughes, C, Northeastern
Charlie Leddy, D, U.S. NTDP U-18 (Boston College)
Cam Lund, C, Green Bay (Northeastern)
Ben MacDonald, C, Nobles (Harvard)
Players with ties to New England at NHL Scouting Combine
Brennan Ali, C, Avon Old Farms (Notre Dame)
Cutter Gauthier, LW, U.S. NTDP U-18 (Boston College)
David Goyette, C, Sudbury Wolves (South Kent alum)
Ryan Greene, C, Green Bay (South Kent alum/Boston University)
Marek Hejduk, RW, U.S. NTDP U-18 (Harvard)
Devin Kaplan, RW, U.S. NTDP U-18 (Boston University)
Cam Whitehead, G, Lincoln (Northeastern)


