A Journalist's Journey Inside the 2025 NHL Combine
What is it really like to cover the NHL Combine from a journalist's point of view? We take you inside what that experience is like.
The 2025 NHL Combine is underway at Buffalo’s Harborcenter. With just over three weeks to go until the 2025 NHL Draft, teams are trying to balance handling offseason business along with conducting interviews of prospects they may eventually take when they’re on the clock.
For the teams, the Combine is an important part of the offseason. It’s their chance to talk to prospects while getting some final answers before they have to decide what to do when it’s their turn to draft.
For the prospects, their whole world is about to turn upside down in a matter of weeks. Everything they’ve worked for is now down to making one last impression with their potential future employer. Their dream is about to come true when their name is called in Los Angeles. The Combine gives them one last chance to make an impression either in the interview or in the fitness testing.
The other prominent entity that is in attendance at the NHL Combine is the media. Independent media is welcomed by the NHL on both Friday afternoon and all-day Saturday.
What does the media actually do at the NHL Combine? Today, we take you behind the curtain and show you what it looks like to cover the event.
From research to planning and much more, you will get a glimpse of just why the NHL Combine gives us a lot of clues about how both the draft and offseason could play out. This event is so much more than just watching 90 prospects go through fitness testing.
Prepare yourself for a rush, because that’s what this experience will be like.
Before Arriving
Before we get to the real good stuff, any journalist has to come in prepared. How does one do that for the Combine? The process begins 10 months earlier.
The month of August usually doesn’t have much in the way of hockey events. The one event that is held there is a big one. The Hlinka/Gretzky Cup is the first premier event of the new season for upcoming draft-eligible prospects to show everyone where their game is at.
For a journalist, it’s our first chance to establish a baseline. Did they stand out in any way in the tournament? An initial set of notes are made based on what we see.
Then throughout the season, we add to these notes as we see fit. We are trying to measure progress over the course of a long season. How do these players handle the ups and downs of their regular season?
Related: 2025 NHL Draft Guide
We watch the games. If a prospect is starting to gain more steam, we try to get an extra viewing or two in so we can see for ourselves.
This is what I call the “information gathering” stage. We take notes throughout the season to try to establish a prospect’s story. Then, when we get to the Combine to talk with these players, we get our chance to ask questions to help fill in the gaps.
In order to adequately be prepared to cover the NHL Combine, we have to devote a lot of time in season to keep up with the top prospects. Then in the weeks leading up to Buffalo, we make our final preparations in order to be ready for Saturday.
In my case, that’s making a notecard for each player I am hoping to speak with. Thanks to the flow and structure of the Combine, having these notecards sorted by fitness-testing time helps keep things organized when we’re running around the floor going from one staging area to another.
Inside Combine Saturday
What is it really like on Combine Saturday? Let me take you on an eight-hour journey into the process that involves tens of thousands of steps, almost a hundred questions and the incredible balancing act of being in multiple places in a short amount of time.
The day itself starts at 7:00 A.M. eastern. The league provides a breakfast for us upon our arrival to Harborcenter. Assuming you get there at 7:00 A.M., there is a 30-minute window to eat before the first group goes out to test.
When the clock strikes 7:30 A.M., it’s showtime. The first group of prospects check in before going through their fitness testing. They get weighed and measured. They go through the different tests ending with the infamous bike test. (Author’s note: I am exhausted just thinking about it.)
