Ian McCoshen was selected 31st in the 2013 NHL Draft by the Florida Panthers on Sunday. He was No. 24 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of the top draft-eligible North American skaters and completed his third season with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League. The 6-foot-2.5, 207-pound defenseman had 11 goals, 44 points and a plus-35 rating in 53 games. Boston College-bound, McCoshen agreed to submit his thoughts to NHL.com.

Hello from the Prudential Center, everyone!

Last night I walked around Times Square with my family, and then we went out to eat at a nice steakhouse. After, we came back and just played around for a little bit because it was pretty exhausting walking around New York City.

It still probably took me two hours to fall asleep last night, though. I wasn't really tired after all.

Ian McCoshen, No. 24 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of the top draft-eligible North American skaters, completed his third season with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League. The 6-foot-2.5, 207-pound defenseman had 11 goals, 44 points and a plus-35 rating in 53 games this season. Boston College-bound, McCoshen has agreed to submit his thoughts during the 2013 Scouting Combine in Toronto this week.

TORONTO -- Last night I just kind of laid low and watched some TV. I went to bed pretty early because I thought my rest was pretty crucial today. I knew the fitness testing today was going to be tough.

My alarm went off at 8:30 a.m., and then I sat in my room for an hour trying to figure out if I should have breakfast. Should I eat? Should I not eat? But I did go eat. I had an omelet and toast, which is lighter than normal.

I got the building for the testing and did medical testing first. I sat in line and waited for them to take pictures of my body, and then I waited to see the doctors. Then it was a heart test and a vision test, and then they test your hand/eye coordination.

Then I walked into the actual testing room, and all I could think of was, "Oh man, there's a lot of people watching." You just want to compete at all the different tests and do your best. I kind of prepared for the last three weeks, so none of the tests was too out of the ordinary. But they didn't tell me my results on anything - I was looking forward to that.

Ian McCoshen, No. 24 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of the top draft-eligible North American skaters, completed his third season with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League. The 6-foot-2.5, 207-pound defenseman had 11 goals, 44 points and a plus-35 rating in 53 games this season. Boston College bound, McCoshen has agreed to submit his thoughts during the 2013 Scouting Combine in Toronto this week.

Hello all!

If you can believe it, I don't have a roommate here at the Scouting Combine. Out of the 101 players invited, I was the one going solo. But it's actually good because I don't have anyone to wake up in the morning and I can watch television whenever I please, so I'm fine with that.

I had meetings with 11 NHL clubs today, beginning at 9 a.m. and lasting until 7 p.m.

Ian McCoshen, No. 24 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of the top draft-eligible North American skaters, completed his third season with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League. The 6-foot-2.5, 207-pound defenseman had 11 goals, 44 points and a plus-35 rating in 53 games this season. The Boston College-bound McCoshen has agreed to submit his thoughts during the 2013 Scouting Combine in Toronto this week.

Hello everyone!

I'm excited to be invited to the NHL Scouting Combine and really looking forward to the week.

The daily routine I went through leading up to the Combine was pretty basic. For the opening two weeks in May, I had school in the morning and workout in the afternoon. This past few weeks, my schedule was different since school was completed.

I ate a light breakfast and then headed to the gym. I worked out with my roommate and [Central Scouting's No. 4-ranked] goaltender Cal Petersen. We went through all of the exercises on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We worked on the bike testing on Tuesday and Thursday.

Ian McCoshen is in his third season with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League. The 6-foot-2.5, 207-pound defenseman, No. 21 on NHL Central Scouting's midterm list of the top draft-eligible North American skaters, has eight goals, 33 points and a plus-24 rating in 40 games this season. The Boston College-bound McCoshen has agreed to submit a monthly blog for NHL.com that will chronicle his progress leading up to the 2013 NHL Draft.

Hi everyone!

Our season has been a good one so far. With six weeks to go, we currently find ourselves in a race for the fourth and final spot for the playoffs this year. I believe it is a great chance for our team to seize the opportunity, rise to the challenge, and get it done. We could still climb in the standings and even catch our conference leader, Sioux Falls, with fourteen games to go.

I think that will help us if we use it to our advantage in preparing for the playoffs. The playoffs are about all-out battles every single shift. It will not get any easier, and we like the challenge ahead.

Personally, I feel that I have matured more and am more patient with the puck than I was in my first season as a Black Hawk. I believe I am also more comfortable with my strength and skating ability this year. I am focused on just trying to make the simple plays and put pucks on the net.

Ian McCoshen is in his third season with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League. The 6-foot-2.5, 207-pound defenseman, No. 21 on NHL Central Scouting's midterm list of the top draft-eligible North American skaters, has six goals, 22 points and a plus-23 rating in 27 games this season.

On Wednesday, McCoshen participated in his second straight USHL/NHL Top Prospects game in Muskegon, Mich. He didn't register a point but did deliver some big hits and had three shots on goal. After the game, McCoshen submitted his monthly blog for NHL.com recapping the event.

Hello, hockey fans!

It was nice to come away with a big win in the USHL Top Prospects Game on Wednesday, 2-1. After getting to Michigan on Tuesday, it was nice to just get acquainted with my teammates and then get on the ice for practice to kind of sort things out.

In the locker room prior to the game, our coaches reminded us that we were at the game for a reason, and that this was a time to prove it. We wanted to be loose, but it's also pretty intense because it's kind of a pressure situation for some of the guys.

I think, compared to last year when some guys looked at this as kind of an all-star type of game, this year had a different feel to it. I felt you had to be on your toes or else something was going to be created off a turnover. So, it was a good game overall.

Ian McCoshen is in his third season with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League. The 6-foot-2.5, 207-pound defenseman, rated No. 2 on NHL Central Scouting's preliminary list of skaters from the USHL, has produced one goal, five points and a plus-15 rating in 13 games this season. McCoshen has agreed to take the time and maintain a blog for NHL.com all season long leading up to the 2013 NHL Draft.

Hi everyone:

It feels great to be back playing with the guys again. We have not been having the same success as we did the beginning of the year, and that has been challenging. We know as a group that it takes a complete buy-in from every guy in order for our team to be successful once again.

Being at the top of our division is a good feeling. But we have to realize that we cannot take any days off and that the other teams want our spot. In the USHL Western Conference right now, only seven points separate the leader from the team in seventh place

Ian McCoshen is in his third season with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League. The 6-foot-2.5, 207-pound defenseman, regarded as an A skater on NHL Central Scouting's preliminary players to watch list for the 2013 Draft, has produced one goal, four points and a plus-13 rating in eight games this season. McCoshen has agreed to take the time and maintain a blog for NHL.com all season long leading up to the 2013 NHL Draft.

Last week I committed to play college hockey at Boston College following this year. I am really excited about the opportunity to play for the best program in the country. I visited the school during the beginning of one week in mid-October. Boston was really nice; I had never been there before. The city has a rich history, especially in sports…while we drove from the airport to campus, Fenway Park was right there, just on the left side of the highway. Northeastern, Boston University, and Boston College are all within six miles of each other. Boston is really a college town with great atmosphere for college hockey.

On campus, I went to a Tuesday morning literature and composition class with defenseman Mike Matheson. There were only 20 or so students taking the course. It's nice knowing that the classes are small. Once the class was over, I was able to see how small the school actually is. It is a tight-knit campus with beautiful facilities.

Ian McCoshen will be entering his third season with the Waterloo Black Hawks in the United States Hockey League in 2012-13. The 6-foot-2 1/2, 207-pound defenseman, regarded as an 'A List' prospect by NHL Central Scouting entering the 2012-13 season, has produced eight goals and 26 points in 97 career games in the USHL. McCoshen, who will take part in the All American Prospects Game in Buffalo on Sept. 29, has agreed to take the time and maintain a blog for NHL.com all season long leading up to the 2013 NHL Draft.

Now that I'm back home in Waterloo, I've had a chance to think about the great time I had in Buffalo last weekend. It was something special being part of the first-ever All-American Prospects Game.

I left Friday night after our game in Green Bay. We took off about 11 p.m., and got into Buffalo like 1:30 in the morning, and I probably didn't get to sleep until 3. Then we started early in the morning with meetings and stuff at the rink.

It certainly wasn't the normal game day. I tried to get my pre-game nap, but I was too excited so I kept waking up every 15 minutes.

Once we got to the rink and started getting our gear on, there was no tension in the room. Guys were loose, excited. We were pretty jacked up to play.

Going out on the ice in an NHL building was pretty surreal. There was a lot of fans out there. It was pretty spectacular facility that the Buffalo Sabers have. What an honor to be in that game.

It's such an honor to be part of the inaugural CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game. It's just such an honor to represent yourself and your country as one of the top prospects in America.

I was a little surprised when I got asked to play in the game because I didn't know they were going to put on a game like this. I'm definitely happy to be here, because I know a couple guys coming, some buddies from the NTDP. It's good to see all the guys.

It wasn't the easiest trip to get here. We had a game in Green Bay on Friday night. We won 4-3 and then I flew right after the game and got here in Buffalo at 2 in the morning. It's been a whirlwind, but it definitely was worth it.

I'm looking forward to just having fun with some of the guys and it being a really competitive game out there and pushing ourselves.