CC recruit is poked, prodded by NHL

John Moore let the Toronto Maple Leafs know he would rather have dinner with Barack Obama than Anna Kournikova, he heard the Boston Bruins tell him for almost a half-hour how soft he was, and threw up after riding an exercise bike.

All told, the Colorado College recruit thought his NHL combine experience went well.

The NHL's annual combine doesn't receive a fraction of the publicity, at least in the United States, the NFL gets for its combine. Moore, a defenseman and likely first-round pick in the June 26 draft, was among the 104 prospects to participate.

"It was awesome," Moore said. "I really enjoyed it. It was tiring, but looking back it was a great experience."

And, just like the NFL combine, the NHL combine had some quirky moments.

Because of NCAA rules, college recruits are allowed to spend only 48 hours at the weeklong combine. On May 27 Moore flew from his home in Chicago to Toronto, arriving at about noon, checked into his hotel across the street and started interviewing with teams.

E.J. McGuire, the director of NHL Central Scouting, said interviews are the most beneficial part of the combine for teams, followed by medical testing and then fitness testing.

Moore had nine interviews his first day, finishing with the Maple Leafs. They offered the weirdest question, asking Moore to rate who he'd most like to have dinner with: Obama, Kournikova or NHL player Sean Avery.

"Some of the questions were from left field," Moore said.

The oddest of Moore's 19 interviews on Day 2 was Boston.

He walked into the Bruins' room, filled with 20-25 members of the organization. Bruins legend and team vice president Cam Neely was at the front of the table.

Not only does Neely have a physical presence, he tested Moore. He called him soft and said he would crumble in the NHL.

Moore said all the prospects had similar experiences with the Bruins, with interviews intended to rile them up and gauge their reaction.

Most of the 25-minute interviews were laid back, with teams simply getting to know the player.

"Boston's seemed like it was 3 hours," Moore said. "That was pretty intimidating."

At 7:30 a.m. on his third day, Moore started an hourlong physical examination. His heart and hand-eye coordination were tested, and his height (6-foot-2), weight (192 pounds) and body fat were recorded as hundreds of scouts and television cameras watched.

"It's such a meat market," Moore said.

The unusual thing about the combine is Moore never put on skates. Instead of doing physical tests on a sheet of ice, he was in a hotel ballroom.

McGuire said on-ice tests aren't necessary. Teams have spent the past season scouting the top players, so scouts know how well they skate.

"A blue line to blue line sprint won't change their minds that much," McGuire said.

Most of the physical tests were common - sit-ups, push-ups, bench press, vertical and standing long jump. The NHL combine gets truly difficult with the bike tests. The first test is a short burst against high resistance. The second bike test measures aerobic fitness.

After the second bike test, Moore was explaining the test to University of Minnesota forward Jordan Schroeder, when he had to excuse himself.

"That was pretty funny, I puked my brains out for a good 30 seconds," Moore said.

And after some media interviews - McGuire said the NHL had to change its combine site to a bigger hotel because the old one was "bursting at the seams" because of so much media coverage - Moore packed his bags and headed to the airport. He slept on the entire flight back to Chicago.

"It's a great experience, but I'm glad to be done and wouldn't want to do it again," Moore said.