(1812 words. Double payout- Draft)

BBC Sports: Ice-hockey reporting

5 June, 2017

With only 4 days left before the SMJHL draft, we at BBC sports decided to catch up with a few prospects at the combine to get their take on these exciting events. The SMJHL draft combine takes the top recruits from all over the world and lets those not still participating in the Prospect Showcase Playoffs stay at the forefront of focus for team scouts.

With many different events including 70% of bodyweight bench press, standing long jump, grip strength, and even flexibility testing, it’s sometimes hard to see how the tests actually reflect true hockey acumen. My sources tell me that most scouting units are really just here to see these young men and women handle themselves when pressed mentally. Some scouting teams even bring sports psychologists to the table for the one-on-one interviews to evaluate the non-verbal responses and their reactions under pressure.

We first catch up with Lukas Müller, fresh off an impressive time on his agility testing and steal him away to ask him a few questions.

BBC:“Lukas, I know you’re a little disappointed with your team’s quick exit from the Prospect Showcase Playoffs. But it looks like you’ve also been quite the media star. From already earning a nickname on your all Austrian defensive pairing, to getting caught up in some banter in the locker room caught on tape. It looks like you’re having a great time out there. Tell us how your experience during your journey to the SMJHL has been so far?”

LM:It's been great. I'm meeting tons of people. Lots of good guys going in this draft. And I can't say enough about Luisa. It's been great playing with her. We were naturals out there. Lui's going to go far. I hope we end up drafted to the same team. It'd be great to keep the Austrian Response together.
All in all, I've learned what I can do against these guys. I need to clean my game up, not take so many penalties and just focus on locking it down. I score a bunch on the power play, so wherever I end up, I'll lobby for some Special Teams work and go from there.

BBC: “I’m certainly looking forward to seeing you with some more ice team after the draft. So Lukas, you’ve just demonstrated your skills in the Prospect Showcase and now you're out here doing pull-ups, bench press, and long jumps. How seriously do draftees take these combines? Do you really think the scouts take these as seriously as real ice-time?”

LM: Well, an important thing to remember is we're going to be playing against these guys for our entire careers. Some of the kids out there are here to have fun, and I think a few of them take it too seriously. There's no reason to be committing roughing and boarding calls out there. We're here to show how well we can play, not how hard we can hit.

As for the scouts, they have their eyes on certain things. The hustle in our game, how we act when we don't have the puck, how we act in the locker room.

It's really important for them to get a good feel for our, and I hate this word, intangibles.

BBC: “We’ll talk intangibles in a second, but let’s jump to how you act in the locker room. We spoke with former prospect showcase teammate Chuck Bernstein and he said that from the moment you walked in, there was instant locker room chemistry and hijinx. What can you tell us about that?”

LM: Oh yeah, Chuck’s a great locker room guy; a bit of a prankster, that one. The first day of the tourney, he snuck into the locker room when we weren’t in there and dunked everyone’s socks in the sink. Everyone was mildly inconvenienced for the rest of the day. If I knew it was him when it happened, I would have socked him right there (no pun intended.) We got him back though. You ever seen that video of the guy pouring shampoo on his friend at the out-door shower at the water park? Well it was like that, but we held him down and covered him head to toe in honey and glitter. I think he’s still sparkling.

He gave me some guff after he got smoked by one of the Outlaws. He came back to pick the puck up behind our net and he was pretty clear. I didn’t really see the guy coming. I told him to wheel it out. He looked up and just got rocked. I apologized to him after the game, but told him to keep his head up next time.

BBC: “Hard to keep your head up when it’s sticky and shimmering in the lights, I’m sure. Well, speaking of intangibles, I know that most teams really focus on the one-on-one interview portion of the combine. Some even going so far as to bring a sports psychologist into the room and evaluate nonverbal responses to tough questions. Have you experienced any of these yet? Anything particularly daunting behind closed doors?”

LM: Well, I've set up meetings with GMs of 6 of the 8 teams. Those weren't really daunting because I was the one that requested them. The GM of the Scarecrows reached out to me though. That felt especially daunting. Knowing my name stood out to them before I had a chance to reach out really had me out there for a bit.

They definitely had the most in depth questioning. I feel like I bonded with some of the other GMs more, but I was particularly honored to be reached out to by St. Louis. It's a beautiful city here.

BBC: “Well thanks for your time Lukas and good luck in the draft!”

We next caught up with Chuck Bernstein. He wasn’t hard to see on the combine floor, glistening like a Twilight vampire under the stadium lights.

BBC: “Chuck, thanks for meeting with us. We just got done talking with your Prospect Showcase teammate Lukas, who told us about some locker room antics the two of you engaged in.”

CB: That jerk still has me pulling glitter out crevices I didn’t know existed on my body. Not to mention all I did was give everyone athlete's foot simultaneously. It was just water! He better hope we get drafted together or he’ll regret the day he ever learned what honey was.

BBC: “Strong words Chuck. You seem like a pretty spirited guy. Tell us how the combine has been treating you so far?”

CB: It’s been fun. A little weird. They’ve seen me skate. They’ve seen me shoot. They know I can put up points. I think I was converting like what, 30%, of my shots during the tournament? Not quite so sure what my long jump has to do with anything, but it’s part of the process. I will say this though, getting some one-on-one time with scouting panels has certainly been rewarding. Intimidating, but rewarding. I’m very confident in my ability to play this sport. I’ve been doing it all my life. But now I’m sitting across the table from these retired superstars and coaches and psychologists analyzing my words and it has me second guessing myself. Did I pause too long to answer that? Did I answer too quickly? I don’t want to seem impulsive. Should I not have made a joke? Should I have not been so serious? I want them to know who I really am, but it’s hard when halfway through your answer everyone starts scribbling and you’re not sure if it’s a good or a bad thing. Quite the unique experience. I’m loving it.

BBC: “Are there any teams you’re particularly interested in being drafted by?”

CB: I’ve heard it’s bad luck to talk about that before the draft. I’ll just leave it at all of them. I mean, look, this is what we’ve been working for our whole lives. All of us. Every single player still in the showcase or out here running like a crazy doing agility drills. We’ve all been working for it our whole life. Just to be drafted is a dream come true. There isn’t a single team out there that could disappoint me should I be drafted. Do I want to go first overall? Yes. Eight? Sure. Last? I’m still playing in the SMJHL and I can work my way to the big leagues from there. As far as a particular team though? I’ll leave it at there’s a few weapon wielding Canadians I wouldn’t mind if they took a second or third look my way when it comes time for picks.

BBC: “Chuck, it looks like some experts have already weighed in on this years draft. Based on their ratings, you're bouncing between about third to sixth pick. On average you're holding strong at fifth overall. That means you'd be lined up with the Militia who are in need of a new winger with their recent call ups. Any thoughts on this? Have you been contacted by their staff at all?"

CB: Wow! Am I really that high up? Ha, don't get me wrong, that's amazing! I'm just sort of in shock. I had a really good showcase and I worked really hard to get my name out there and stand out to the scouts. I guess they noticed huh? Montreal has a great team. I actually just had an interview panel with them not too long ago. I really admire the way they're able to develop their players. Of course we're all here to win, but what I like most about Montreal is that they understand the ultimate goal; the SHL. That's why we're here. So while we're on the ice with them, we're playing our hardest to get noticed by the higher ups. That means we're willing to learn and willing to develop our play. They're an amazing development team. I mean, just look at some of the stars moving up this year and who are Militia alumni. It's a who's-who of Hall of Famers. If I got drafted with them I would be beyond excited. Looks like you got that team name out of me after all. You're good... I hope I didn't jinx it! But hey, even if I did, I made it this far. Like I said before, first or last, as long as I'm drafted it's still a dream come true.

BBC: “Hopefully we didn't jinx anything! Thanks so much Chuck. Best of luck in the draft.”

And there we have it everyone. For those looking to read more on Lukas or Chuck, you can check out their pre-showcase profiles. Otherwise, be expecting to see these two go very high in the draft. Tune into the draft this 8 June at 6pm EST.

that's a lot of words. i didn't read any of them but they're probably good words, good job.

júnior Guarda
Throat Goat

TL;DR
Good article

"do you have time to talk about our lords and saviours the austrian response"

why is there a media article about big black cocks?

Originally posted by Your Mothers Favorite Goalie@Jun 6 2017, 07:52 PM
why is there a media article about big black cocks?

Because it got your attention

Originally posted by Primeapple@Jun 7 2017, 12:02 AM


Because it got your attention

i'll playwith anyone
playing with my teammates is part of the intangibles I bring to the table
i play with them a lot.
they didn't like it at first
but after a while, it just felt normal

4-0 and 0-4 aren't that different tbh

FIRE EGGY
HIRE ARTY

Originally posted by Loco@Jun 6 2017, 12:07 AM
that's a lot of words. i didn't read any of them but they're probably good words, good job.

Wow, this guy really gets the shl spirit

hewoe

Originally posted by Chewbacca@Jun 7 2017, 07:00 AM

Wow, this guy really gets the shl spirit

i can only assume this is a compliment of the highest regards

júnior Guarda
Throat Goat

Originally posted by Loco@Jun 7 2017, 06:51 PM

i can only assume this is a compliment of the highest regards

Best of advice - don't listen or learn anything from me

hewoe

Originally posted by Chewbacca@Jun 7 2017, 12:53 PM

Best of advice - don't listen or learn anything from me

wait, that's a paradox . . . .

i'll playwith anyone
playing with my teammates is part of the intangibles I bring to the table
i play with them a lot.
they didn't like it at first
but after a while, it just felt normal

4-0 and 0-4 aren't that different tbh

FIRE EGGY
HIRE ARTY