The NHL Scouting Combine: It's Barf-tastic!

The NHL Draft Combine (currently underway in Toronto) doesn't get the ink that the NFL's version does, but as Ray Slover at the Sporting News points out, it's just as important. Slover throws a couple of numbers our way for those of us who don't believe him:

115: Prospects invited to the combine. Occasionally, a player might decline because of distance (that trip from Magnitogorsk can be brutal) or a commitment (some prospects are still in school). Evgeni Malkin, drafted second in 2004, is the most notable recent no-show.

97: Percent of invitees over the past six years who were drafted.

That's all well and good, but what goes on at the Combine? Well, for one thing, lots of puking, according to TSN.ca:

11:45am et - Jonathan Toews struggled with some of the physical testing. The North Dakota forward threw up after his stint on the stationary bike...

4:00pm et - Phil Kessel struggled with the aerobic testing on the bike. Like Toews, he required a bucket after the VO2 Max test.

Maybe it's the bike. Or maybe they had just had a couple of KFC Famous Bowls. Probably one or the other.