The 2017 NHL Combine is an event which shouldn’t produce any permanent or strong conclusions. Like the NFL Combine, the goal is to see what kind of shape prospects are in, but no one should lose any sleep if they have a bad performance. On the flip side, a prospect who shows off might grab the attention of a team who may have otherwise passed.
All of that being said, top NHL prospect Casey Mittelstadt had a disastrous weekend and had hockey fans talking for all of the wrong reasons. NHL.com ranks Mittelstadt as a top-3 North American prospect due to his offensive skills, speed and awareness with and without the puck.
Mittelstadt wasn’t able to do a single pull-up and could only manage one lift on the bench press during his session at the Combine. Unless he’s hiding an injury, that’s a worrisome result.
It’s Sam Bennett all over again.
Casey Mittelstadt did one bench press and zero pull-ups. #NHLCombine
— Mark Scheig (@markscheig) June 3, 2017
If you’re curious, the weight on the bench press is determined by the player’s weight. Based on his weight, Mittelstadt was asked to lift around 160 pounds (here’s how that’s calculated) and was able to get it up only once.
Now, some will point to the fact that no NHL player is doing pull-ups out on the ice, but that’s a bit of a cop out. With his official measurements checking in at 5-foot-11.5, 198.98 pounds, he already has a bit of size and should have some muscle on his frame. He’s also one of the older players at the Combine. Unless there’s an injury, the fact he’s not a bit stronger may have a few teams at least looking over him a bit closer as a top pick.
On the flip side, Mittelstadt is ranked a top prospect for a reason. He can be dynamic out on the ice, but his strength results may have teams asking twice if he can develop and handle the larger, stronger players in the AHL and NHL.
Sam Bennett proved he could make things work despite a bad Combine. Will Mittelstadt prove the same?
