An 18-year-old's grip strength or bench press or comportment in an NHL draft interview tells you nothing about what kind of player he'll be when he's 23, says Ken Campbell.
An 18-year-old's grip strength or bench press or comportment in an NHL draft interview tells you nothing about what kind of player he'll be when he's 23, says Ken Campbell.
Coming off their second straight Stanley Cup, the Detroit Red Wings were kind enough to allow me to sit in on a couple of interviews they did with prospects at the 1998 NHL draft combine.
One of them was ebullient as all get-out, waxing poetic about all the sacrifices he'd be willing to make to win a Stanley Cup. Another was clearly shy and nervous, constantly cracking his knuckles, looking at the floor and mumbling his answers.
Turns out the Red Wings didn't take either guy, but guess which one had the better career? You guessed it: the guy who cracked his knuckles and mumbled.
Which is another way of saying that what went down at the NHL draft combine this past week in Buffalo doesn't amount for a hill of beans. That doesn't mean the players who interviewed well and scored highly on the fitness tests won't be great players, but it won't have anything to do with how high they could jump or how impressively they could speak as 18-year-olds.
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