Gross

The NHL is holding their draft combine this weekend, and North Dakota's Jonathan and Minnesota's Phil Kessel both made news; not for what they did during their workout, but what they did after their workouts. TSN reported on their combine blog that both Toews and Kessel needed a bucket to vomit into after their workout on a stationary bike.

Both players didn't necessarily get the best reviews for their physical testing. But anything that gets made of this will be too much, in my opinion. I didn't need a room full of scientists and NHL scouts to tell me that Jonathan Toews would fall below the median in a bench press competition, when the NHL loves to invite 6+ ft. 200+ lbs. players to this thing.

TSN also made the point that the college season ended in April for most players(March for Phil Kessel*), while the major junior players played much deeper into the spring. There's a lot to be said for being in "game shape" and it's pretty much impossible to maintain, no matter how hard you work. Kessel was said to do well in the strength tests, which is much easier to work on over the summer.

In the end, these workouts aren't that big of a deal. Teams are going to focus more on what a player can do on the ice instead of what they do in a weight room. Hopefully people don't focus too much on the performance of Kessel and Toews on the stationary bike.







*In case you missed it, Minnesota lost to Holy Cross in the first round of the NCAA tournament. It was kind of a big deal.