NHL Appraisal Camp | A tough question from the Canadian

(Buffalo) The NHL evaluation camp ended on Saturday with a series of physical tests, each more painful than the next.

But since the start of the week, the 106 hopefuls invited to the city where President McKinley breathed his last were touring the teams. Each of the 32 clubs occupied a box at the KeyBank Center where the staff welcomed the players for interviews lasting around twenty minutes.

Once again this year, the questions posed by the Canadiens caught the eye. A few players mentioned situations that were presented to them, and to which they had to react.

“I was told: you are queuing at the counter, two old ladies are in front of you and someone is passing them. What are you doing ? said Alex Pharand, a forward for the Sudbury Wolves.

His response: “I said I was going to defend me and the two old ladies! “, assured the Franco-Ontarian.

Étienne Morin, of the Moncton Wildcats, also had to explain his role in the fictitious ATM scandal. But he kinda knew what to expect since the D^r David Scott, a sports psychology advisor to the Canadiens and the one who usually asks these types of questions during CH interviews, also works with the Wildcats.

Morin was also ready for the famous animal question. For several years now, the Habs have been asking players which animal best represents them, on and off the ice. Now, the word gets around over the years and several hopefuls have told us they come in with a prepared response.

Morin had done his research and therefore spoke of ants, known for their ability to lift loads heavier than themselves, as well as dolphins, “feared by sharks because of their intelligence”. Another player said he was a mother bear.

“Last year, 80% of players said lions or tigers. This year, it was more varied, ”said Canadian general manager Kent Hughes during his press briefing on Thursday.

If the CH wants spontaneous answers, we will have to think of other questions for next year.

Hughes was out of town for the day of testing, having left Buffalo on Thursday. A few GMs – Bill Armstrong (Coyotes), Kevyn Adams (Sabres), Mike Grier (Sharks) and Jarmo Kekäläinen (Blue Jackets) – were spotted, but the majority weren’t.

Still at the CH, it is the co-director of amateur recruitment Martin Lapointe and the scout Ben Shutron who were in the stands of the Sabers training center. On the arena floor, Adam Douglas (Director of Sport Science and Performance) and Dale Lablans, Fitness Coach, represented the team.

Among the main prospects, Adam Fantilli and Leo Carlsson have been exempted from physical tests.

The two attackers, generally expected in the top 4 of the auction, took part in the World Championship in Finland and Latvia, a tournament which ended on May 28. They then traveled to Vegas, for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals earlier this week, before landing in Buffalo on Tuesday. In short, they weren’t exactly in the best position to offer their best effort.

“If I had had time to prepare, I would have done it. But I’m coming from Europe and if I do the tests I want to be at the top of my game,” Fantilli said.

For the curious, Connor Bedard complied with the exercises, and he ranked in the top 10 in a single test: that of the Wingate (9^e place). “I’m a player like any other and I haven’t played for a month and a half,” he said.

In addition to the interviews, the teams will sometimes invite hopefuls to dinner.

Of course, caution should be exercised before extrapolating scenarios. A dinner does not mean a selection, which we learned last year when the CH had invited Logan Cooley and Shane Wright to have a bite to eat, to finally fish out Juraj Slafkovsky.

Here are the appointments that we were able to confirm over the interviews:

• Leo Carlsson ate with the Blue Jackets (holders of 3^e picks) and the Sharks (4^e).
• Adam Fantilli also had supper with Columbus.
• Although they play in a college arena, the Coyotes (6^e) could afford to buy dinner for David Reinbacher, seen by many as the best defender available this year.
• Gabriel Perreault sat down with the Penguins (14^e).
• Will Smith received an invitation from a team, but would not say which one, the secretive.