The NHL booking ceremony will be held at the end of June.
Gavin McKenna is considered the most promising player in this year’s reserve age group. Tiia Mahkonen / AOP
Perhaps the all-time Stanley Cup finals are still underway, but another extremely interesting event is fast approaching in the North American puck market.
The NHL’s annual booking event will be held starting June 26 in Buffalo.
The top name of the event is considered to be a Canadian Gavin McKennawho also represented Sweden at the World Cup Ivar Stenberg.
The most interesting names from a Finnish perspective have finished their season at Boston College in the university series in the NCAA Oscar Hemming and the Tappara promises Oliver Suvanto and Juho Piiparinen.
The best for the moment is expected from the upcoming booking event as far as the blue and white promises are concerned.
For example, The Athletic’s young players were looked at by the following Scott Wheeler estimates that forwards Hemming and Suvanto will go in the opening round.
Defender Piiparinen will be reserved for him his assessment at the beginning of the second round.
Many others, such as TSN’s illustrious Craig Button and Sportsnet Sam Cosentinoestimate that the aforementioned Finns will be booked in the first round.
The questions
Last week, the NHL was held Scouting combine – an event where clubs get to interview the most promising reserve age players.
The players will also perform various mobility and fitness tests at the event.
Every year, information about the clubs’ most special questions for young people leaks into the public domain – and this year as well.
For example, the New York Islanders handed players a brick and asked what they could do with it.
One team asked if the player would prefer to play a four-year NHL career with one Stanley Cup or a ten-year career without a championship.
One organization, on the other hand, wanted to know how many chickens the player thought would stop the zamboni.
Strange questions are not new to the NHL Scouting combine at the event.
Last year, Montreal asked players what they would do if someone mocked their mother or sister, like a comedian Chris Brock made by the actor For Will Smith At the Oscars in 2022.
Towards the prinka fish
The Florida Panthers booked Henrik Borgström in 2016. PDO
For all players, interviews do not always go well.
Well-known NHL journalist Jeff Marek told The Sheet with Jeff Marek podcast, the story of how the interview of a young player went so badly that he had to be invited for a re-interview.
According to Marek, the player in question was Finnish Henrik Borgström.
– His interviews went really badly. Teams thought he would fall asleep during interviews. One team had to call him back for a second interview because they couldn’t believe how poorly the first interview went.
The Florida Panthers booked Borgström at the 2016 booking event with number 23. Borgström was the fourth Finnish booking in the opening round.
He used to be booked Patrick Laine (2.), Jesse Puljujärvi (4.) and Olli Juolevi (5th).
Borgström has played a total of 111 games in the NHL for the Florida Panthers, Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals. He returned to Europe for the 2023–24 season when he signed with SHL club HV71.
Borgström has won the NCAA, AHL and Swiss league championships in his career.