from the CP at TSN,
Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel's presence alone at the NHL's pre-draft scouting combine next week is enough to spur league-wide buzz.
There's more. Aside from having two highly touted players included among the 120 prospects scheduled to attend, the combine is finally entering the 21st century.
After spending the past 25 years in stuffy and carpeted hotel and convention centre ballrooms in suburban Toronto, the weeklong event is moving for the first time into an actual hockey facility in downtown Buffalo. Starting Monday and running through June 6, the combine will be held at the newly built hockey/entertainment HarborCenter complex connected to the Sabres home arena.
"This is taking the combine to a whole other level," Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning said. "I'm looking forward to getting in there and seeing how it's run this year and, maybe going forward, that's the way it's going to continue to be run."
Anything would be an upgrade after last year, when the hotel air conditioning didn't work during the team-player interview portion of the combine.
"I felt bad for the kids, because it was like we were sweating them out," Benning said, laughing.
The $200-million facility, funded by Sabres owner Terry Pegula, opened in November. It features two NHL-sized rinks, a training centre, meeting rooms, a bar and restaurant, and will eventually include a 200-plus-room hotel.
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