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NHL Prospects Pushed To Extraordinary Limits

The Associated Press

NHL draft prospect Steven Stamkos takes part in a drill during the NHL scouting combine in Toronto on May 30.

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 3, 2008

Updated: 06/03/2008 11:22 am

TORONTO - A banquet hall inside the Westin Bristol Place Hotel dished out its fair share of torture over the weekend to a roomful of teenagers put through an assembly line of physical tests.

Sitting at the end of the line, lurking like a schoolyard bully camped out behind the jungle gym, are a pair of ordinary stationary bikes that push hockey hopefuls to extraordinary physical limits.

Some of the top 100-plus NHL prospects descended upon the Toronto airport-area last weekend for the NHL draft combine. And though it may not be as highly publicized or televised as the NFL combine, the hockey players are certainly put through a more grueling process as they are evaluated by would-be employers.

"It wasn't too much fun, especially when you get to the two bike tests," said No. 1-rated prospect Steven Stamkos of the Sarnia Sting, who is all but assured to be selected No. 1 overall by Tampa Bay when the draft begins June.

When players enter the room, they begin with some basic workouts, from bench presses and sit-ups to standing long jumps and vertical leaps, all done with scouts and managers jotting notes along the way. With each completed task, however, the bikes move one step closer to being reality.

Prospects hear about the tests and practice for them, but they can't prepare under these settings with eyes peering and judging every move they make. And to make the bicycle tests the last two stops seems almost unfair.

"It's very, very grueling," Lightning strength and conditioning coach Eric Lawson said of the tests. "Even for an athlete who is in top condition. And it's a grueling weekend for these guys, with all the testing that's going on, it's very difficult."

As Stamkos sat down on the first bike, he couldn't help but stare over and watch as goaltending prospect Braden Holtby went through the rigors of the Wingate anaerobic test, which tests strength - physically and mentally - with a vociferous motivator at either side of the bike.

"It's pretty tough when you see the guy screaming ... so it kind of gets the nerves going before you get on the first bike," Stamkos said. "And I've done the test before with my trainer and you kind of know what to expect, but with all the cameras, guys yelling at you and all the scouts, it's a pretty different atmosphere."

When players step onto the first bike for the Wingate Cycle Ergometer test, their feet are taped to the pedals. After a short warm-up to get their heart rate up, the players are encouraged by trainers to push their bodies to maximum capacity, all while the resistance level increases, making the end of the test look like a climb up Mt. Everest. By the end of the timed test, the resistance is cranked up from between 15 to 22 pounds, pressing heart rates up and over 200 beats per minute.

Upon dismount from the Wingate test, most players trudge to a resting area where chairs sit in front of a large bucket, there in case anybody loses his lunch, as often is the case.

There's more torture, however, awaiting with the final test, called the VO2 Max, a test that measures a person's ability to take in and process oxygen. To conduct this test, players are given a nose plug and a plastic tube to place in their mouth to regulate the flow of oxygen.

Again, they are instructed to push their physical limits while pedaling using only their mouth - still connected to the tube - to breathe. Some, such as Stamkos, end up ripping the tube out of their mouth in order to fill their lungs with air.

"Scouts and evaluators are trying to evaluate the kid's level of fitness," said E.J. McGuire, the head of NHL Central Scouting. "But they are also doing some subjective evaluations on how they feel how hard the kid pushes or the numerical indicators of what this kid could get to and how fast they recover from it."

After completing the physically punishing circuit, prospects are given a brief psychology test by computer to compare their mental faculties.

By the end of it all, players are noticeably exhausted - some having to lie down with feet propped above their heart - faces still beet red with sweat beads running down their forehead like a leaky faucet, all in the hopes of having left a positive impression for the assembled cast of teams seeking their next prodigy.

Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7835 or eerlendsson@tampatrib.com.

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