I think the expectations of some over these combine results are a little too high physically given how young these guys are. This isn't the NFL combine where the players are around 22-24 years old and plenty of time during the course of the school year to hit the gym and get big/strong. All the combine shows is where the kids are in their physical development. Being a big/strong guy like Mark McNeill at the combine doesn't necessarily translate to a guy that is going to excel in the NHL or even be more NHL ready. I don't think teams are too worried about Bennett not being able to do a pull up and the only thing I can think of it mattering to is teams like the Oilers or Panthers that may be looking for players that can step into the NHL sooner or later but really most of the forwards at the top of the draft class look like they will need a few years to fill out as a lot of them looked pretty slight.
|