With the top spot for the 2011 Entry Draft as wide-open as ever, it could make the NHL Scouting Combine that much more of an important event.
 
The 102 best draft-eligible players from North America and Europe will spend May 30 to June 4 in Toronto, going through a vigorous round of physical, medical and psychological tests that could determine where they are chosen.
 
Among the most sought-after players will be Red Deer Rebels center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Swedish defenseman Adam Larsson.
 
The 6-foot, 164-pound Nugent-Hopkins was No. 1 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of the top North American skaters. He led the Western Hockey League this season with 75 assists and was tied for third with 106 points. He then had 11 points in nine WHL playoff games.
 
"A couple of people high up in the Oilers' organization -- and I'm not naming names -- said Hopkins has the best vision on the ice since No. 99 (Wayne Gretzky)," Central Scouting's Peter Sullivan, who mainly scouts WHL prospects, told NHL.com. "That's the highest compliment you can get, but also another thing is the way Ryan competes. He never takes a night off and he works as hard in his own end as he does in the offensive zone. It takes a special player with special skills to be able to do that."
 
Larsson (6-3, 200) has been Central Scouting's top-rated European skater all season. He had 9 points in 37 games with Skelleftea in the Swedish Elite League, his third season playing against men in the nation's top professional league. He also had 4 points in six games for Sweden at the 2011 World Junior Championship and played for his country at the 2010 WJC.
 
"Adam is one of the best skaters in this year's draft," Central Scouting's Chris Edwards said. "He has excellent speed and mobility. He also has patient puck-handling abilities and can surprise an opponent with a solid hit. His size and skating ability make him comparable with Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman."
 
The Scouting Combine features a three-pronged approach. Teams are allowed four days to interview as many prospects as they wish. Players are given medical examinations by independent doctors, and then go through a rigorous off-ice physical test.
 
There is no on-ice component to the Combine, and that's done for a reason.
 
EJ McGuire, the former director of Central Scouting who died last month, told NHL.com that for one, the top players already have been viewed multiple times by scouts either in person or on video.
 
Also, there's the fact that some players, including many in U.S. colleges and high schools, haven't been on the ice since February -- compared with players with Canadian Hockey League teams who could be coming off long playoff runs that could end weeks or days before the start of the Combine. The championship game for the Memorial Cup is scheduled for May 29 in Mississauga, Ont., the day before the Combine starts.
 
"Is it fair to the kid whose high school season ended in February to stand next to the kid who played in a championship game on Sunday?" McGuire told NHL.com last year. "It might be unfair to the Memorial Cup participant if the (high school) kid had just been doing the Combine tests, sprinting five times a week and not having to practice. That Memorial Cup guy, did he block a shot to win a championship and his ankle is sore?"
 
Instead, the players are put through their paces in a three-hour crucible which includes events as simple as the sit and reach, push-ups and sit-ups, right through a pair of high-tech stationary bike tests -- Wingate anaerobic measure and an aerobic-max VO2 test.
 
The top 76 North American skaters as rated by NHL Central Scouting will be taking those tests. Besides Nugent-Hopkins, those looking to make an impression on the scouts are Kitchener Rangers left wing Gabriel Landeskog and defenseman Ryan Murphy; defenseman Dougie Hamilton and center Ryan Strome of the Niagara IceDogs; Drummondville Voltigeurs center Sean Couturier; Portland Winterhawks left wing Sven Baertschi; and a group of players from the Saint John Sea Dogs that includes centers Jonathan Huberdeau and Zack Phillips, defenseman Nathan Beaulieu, and right wing Tomas Jurco.
 
A number of top European players scouts will be examining beside Larsson are Swedish center Mika Zibanejad, Finnish right wing Joel Armia, Swedish defenseman Jonas Brodin and right wing Dmitri Jaskin from the Czech Republic.
 
Among the goaltending prospects in attendance will be John Gibson of the U.S. National Team Developmental Program and Christopher Gibson of Chicoutimi Sagueneens, Central Scouting's top two-rated goaltenders.
 
Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

SCOUTING COMBINE INVITATION LIST
NORTH AMERICAN SKATERS
NAME	TEAM	LEAGUE	POS.	HT	WT
Seth Ambroz	Omaha	USHL	RW	6-foot-2	211
Olivier Archambault	Val d'Or	QMJHL	LW	5-foot-11	170
Sven Baertschi	Portland	WHL	LW	5-foot-10	181
Nathan Beaulieu	Saint John	QMJHL	D	6-foot-2	174
Myles Bell	Regina	WHL	D	6-foot	214
Tyler Biggs	USA U-18	USHL	RW	6-foot-2	210
Austen Brassard	Belleville	OHL	RW	6-foot-2	191
Daniel Catenacci	Sault Ste. Marie	OHL	C	5-foot-10	183
Adam Clendening	Boston University	HE	D	5-foot-11`	190
Nick Cousins	Sault Ste. Marie	OHL	C	5-foot-11	166
Sean Couturier	Drummondville	QMJHL	C	6-foot-4	197
Joseph Cramarossa	Mississauga St. Michael's	OHL	C	6-foot	188
Phillip Danault	Victoriaville	QMJHL	LW	6-foot	170
Joel Edmundson	Moose Jaw	WHL	D	6-foot-5	191
Travis Ewanyk	Edmonton	WHL	LW	6-foot-1	178
Rocco Grimaldi	USA U-18	USHL	C	5-foot-6	163
Dougie Hamilton	Niagara	OHL	D	6-foot-4	187
Jonathan Huberdeau	Saint John	QMJHL	C	6-foot-1	170
Philippe Hudon	Choate-Rosemary	HIGH-CT	C/RW	6-foot	190
Colin Jacobs	Seattle	WHL	C	6-foot-1	197
Boone Jenner	Oshawa	OHL	C	6-foot-1	204
Nicklas Jensen	Oshawa	OHL	LW/RW	6-foot-2	187
Tomas Jurco	Saint John	QMJHL	RW	6-foot-2	187
Alexander Khokhlachev	Windsor	OHL	C/LW	5-foot-10	188
Patrick Koudys	Rensselaer	ECAC	D	6-foot-2	190
Sean Kuraly	Indiana	USHL	C	6-foot-2	192
Joseph Labate	Holy Angels	HIGH-MN	C	6-foot-4	180
Gabriel Landeskog	Kitchener	OHL	LW	6-foot-1	207
Zac Larraza	USA U-18	USHL	LW	6-foot-2	192
Maximilien LeSieur	Shawinigan	QMJHL	RW	6-foot-2	203
Lucas Lessio	Oshawa	OHL	LW	6-foot-1	197
Luke Lockhart	Seattle	WHL	RW	5-foot-10	180
Adam Lowry	Swift Current	WHL	LW	6-foot-4	186
Mario Lucia	Wayzata	HIGH-MN	LW	6-foot-2	183
Scott Mayfield	Youngstown	USHL	D	6-foot-4	197
Mark McNeill	Prince Albert	WHL	C	6-foot-2	201
Jonathan Miller	USA U-18	USHL	C	6-foot-1	198
Joseph Morrow	Portland	WHL	D	6-foot	197
Connor Murphy	USA U-18	USHL	D	6-foot-3	185
Ryan Murphy	Kitchener	OHL	D	5-foot-11	166
David Musil	Vancouver	WHL	D	6-foot-3	198
Vladislav Namestnikov	London	OHL	C	6-foot	166
Matthew Nieto	Boston University	HE	LW	5-foot-11	175
Marcel Noebels	Seattle	WHL	LW	6-foot-3	195
Stefan Noesen	Plymouth	OHL	RW	6-foot	195
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	Red Deer	WHL	C	6-foot-1	164
Scott Oke	Saint John	QMJHL	LW	6-foot-3	185
Jamieson Oleksiak	Northeastern	HE	D	6-foot-7	244
Xavier Ouellet	Montreal	QMJHL	D	6-foot	174
Stuart Percy	Mississauga St. Michael's	OHL	D	6-foot-1	186
Zack Phillips	Saint John	QMJHL	C	6-foot-1	178
Shane Prince	Ottawa	OHL	C	5-foot-10	174
Matt Puempel	Peterborough	OHL	LW	6-foot	196
Alan Quine	Peterborough	OHL	C	5-foot-11	178
Jonathan Racine	Shawinigan	QMJHL	D	6-foot-1	182
Rickard Rakell	Plymouth	OHL	RW	6-foot	191
Ty Rattie	Portland	WHL	RW	5-foot-11	163
Mike Reilly	Shattuck-St. Mary's	HIGH-MN	D	5-foot-11	150
Tobias Rieder	Kitchener	OHL	C	5-foot-11	173
Brett Ritchie	Sarnia	OHL	RW	6-foot-3	210
Robbie Russo	USA U-18	USHL	D	6-foot	189
Brandon Saad	Saginaw	OHL	LW	6-foot-1	208
Reece Scarlett	Swift Current	WHL	D	6-foot-1	164
Mark Scheifele	Barrie	OHL	C	6-foot-2	182
Logan Shaw	Cape Breton	QMJHL	RW	6-foot-3	197
Nicholas Shore	Denver	WCHA	C	6-foot	195
Duncan Siemens	Saskatoon	WHL	D	6-foot-3	192
Ryan Sproul	Sault Ste. Marie	OHL	D	6-foot-3	175
Michael St. Croix	Edmotnon	WHL	C	5-foot-11	176
Ryan Strome	Niagara	OHL	C	6-foot	175
Colin Sullivan	Avon Old Farms	HIGH-CT	D	6-foot-1	190
Ryan Tesink	Saint John	QMJHL	C	5-foot-11	157
Vincent Trocheck	Saginaw	OHL	C	5-foot-10	184
Andy Welinski	Green Bay	USHL	D	6-foot	188
Tyler Wotherspoon	Portland	WHL	D	6-foot-1	203
Zachary Yuen	Tri-City	WHL	D	6-foot	205
NORTH AMERICAN GOALTENDERS
Jordan Binnington	Owen Sound	OHL		6-foot-1	156
Laurent Brossoit	Edmonton	WHL		6-foot-3	193
Christopher Gibson	Chicoutimi	QMJHL		6-foot-1	193
John Gibson	USA U-18	USHL		6-foot-3	205
Matt Mahalak	Plymouth	OHL		6-foot-2	183
Matt McNeely	USA U-18	USHL		6-foot-2	205
Stephen Michalek	Loomis Chaffee	HIGH-CT		6-foot-2	183
Michael Morrison	Kitchener	OHL		6-foot	177
EUROPEAN SKATERS
Joel Armia	Assat	FIN	RW	6-foot-3	191
Rasmus Bengtsson	Rogle	SWE-2	D	6-foot-3	189
Jeremy Boyce Rotevall	Timra	SWE	LW	6-foot	169
Jonas Brodin	Farjestad	SWE	D	6-foot-1	169
Max Friberg	Skovde	SWE-3	LW	5-foot-11	185
Markus Granlund	HIFK	FIN-JR	C	5-foot-10	169
Gregory Hofmann	Ambri	SWISS	C	6-foot	177
Dmitri Jaskin	Slavia	CZE	RW	6-foot-1	196
Karl Johansson	Brynas	SWE-JR	D	5-foot-9	167
Oscar Klefbom	Farjestad	SWE	D	6-foot-4	200
Nikita Kucherov	CSKA	RUS-JR	W	5-foot-10	163
Adam Larsson	Skelleftea	SWE	D	6-foot-3	200
Joachim Nermark	Linkoping	SWE-JR	C	6-foot-1	187
Victor Rask	Leskand	SWE-2	C	6-foot-2	194
Alexander Ruuttu	Jokerit	FIN-JR	C	6-foot-1	183
Miikka Salomaki	Karpat	FIN	RW	5-foot-11	198
Mika Zibanejad	Djurgarden	SWE	C	6-foot-2	191
EUROPEAN GOALTENDER
Samu Perhonen	JYP	FIN-JR		6-foot-4	172