Monahan looking forward to Draft Combine

Sean Monahan, NHL Central Scouting's No. 5-rated skater among the top draft-eligible prospects in North America, is a center for the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League. The 6-foot-2.25, 187-pound forward led his team with 31 goals, 47 assists, 15 power-play goals and 78 points in 58 games this season for the 67's. Monahan, who was voted among the top three players in four separate categories during the OHL Eastern Conference Coaches Poll in March, has offered to maintain a blog during his stay in Toronto for the NHL Scouting Combine this week.

Hi everyone!

Sean Monahan of the Ottawa 67's will be blogging for NHL.com ahead of the 2013 NHL Draft in Newark, New Jersey. (Courtesy: www.icelevel.com)

As you all know, the NHL Combine is being held this week and I'll be arriving in Toronto at the hotel on Monday. Right now, I'm still not certain who my roommate will be, but looking forward to that.

I've been preparing for this event for a while with practice interviews and off-ice training. I know the testing is pretty hard and you need to really push yourself to prove yourself. My trainer has been helping me get physically ready, and it has been a big help.

I was also able to prepare by talking to my friends and players who have gone through the Combine process. I talked to [Ottawa Senators prospect] Cody Ceci, who is my friend and an old teammate. He just told me to be myself and enjoy it. He said it's a fun experience and not to be nervous about anything. Also [Philadelphia Flyers prospect] Scott Laughton has given me a few pointers. He went through this last year, and told me to just give everything I had in the fitness testing and to have fun with the whole event.

I'm looking forward to meeting with the scouts and general managers so that they can get to know me off the ice. I am really looking forward to get the Combine started. I'll touch base with all of you at some point during the interviewing phase of the Combine to give you an idea what that is all about.

Thanks for reading!

Sean

Follow Sean Monahan on Twitter at: @Monahan20