DRAFT: 2018 Combine Recap

The draft eligible prospects in Buffalo underwent fitness testing on Saturday and visited with the media. chicagoblackhawks.com was on location interviewing prospects and gathering information on the top players
Check out our Combine Rewind for notes, video interviews and more.

Day 2 Live Content

Ahead of the combine, we took the skater rankings from NHL Central Scouting, eliminated the consensus top three players (Dahlin, Svechnikov and Zadina), and highlighted the next 10 to profile (five from North America and five from Europe). These are players likely to be available when the Blackhawks choose eighth overall.
GROUP ONE
Oskar Back, Filip Hallander, Jacob Olofsson, Martin Fehervary, Isac Lundestrom, Milos Roman, Adam Ginning, Nils Lundkvist
ADAM GINNING
There's no shortage of high-profile Swedes in the 2018 NHL Draft. It seems as though everywhere you look in Buffalo there is a Swedish defensemen. Rasmus Dahlin may be the highest profile of them all, but one trying to work his way up draft boards is Adam Ginning.
NHL Central Scouting's fifth-ranked European Skater is a defensive defenseman who is at his best when he can assert himself physically. His transition to the North American game may be smoother than most because on smaller ice he can throw his weight around a bit more.
"I like playing in small rinks," he said. "I played here in February in Plymouth. I liked it. It's a little more physical game and it fits me well."
Ginning had four points (1G, 3A) in seven games at the U-18 World Juniors, where he wore the "C" for Sweden. The blueliner says he met with 22 teams at the combine, with the Blackhawks being one of them. Think of him as a similar player to Edmonton's Adam Larsson, whom Ginning says teams have compared him to at the combine.

GROUP TWO
Adam Boqvist, Keegan Karki, Niklas Nordgren, Lukas Dostal, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Rasmus Sandin, Filip Johansson, Rasmus Kupari
ADAM BOQVIST
Firmly in the conversation of going in the top 10 at the draft, Adam Boqvist was a popular kid at the NHL Combine. NHL Central Scouting's second-ranked European Skater says the Blackhawks were one of three teams to meet with him outside of the hotel, having dinner with the defenseman.
"That was good," he said. "I was with Bowman and two more guys. We talked a little bit… That was fun."
Boqvist said the conversation was more about him as a person and less about his on-ice play.

"The big thing is to know me as a person. They know what I can do out there."
The blueliner knows it may be a bit before he's ready to reach the top league.
"I need to work on everything because it's the best league in the world. In two, three years I hope I can play in the NHL.
"I think you need to be a little bit stronger, take away the forwards by the net and win battles in the corner."
Boqvist is lauded for his play with the puck as he's a great skater and has dynamic puck skills. He looks up to a fellow Swede in Ottawa's Erik Karlsson.
JESPERI KOTKANIEMI
An offensively gifted Finnish forward was one of the many prospects to meet with the Blackhawks at the combine. Jesperi Kotkaniemi visited with the club, along with fellow countryman Rasmus Kupari.
"Actually, I had a fun interview with the Blackhawks," Kotkaniemi said. "I went at the same time with Kupari in there, so it was a fun meeting."

Kotkaniemi is ranked sixth among European Skaters by NHL Central Scouting. As for his own game, Kotkaniemi says he likes to be physical and produce offensively. He says he models his game after Florida Panthers Aleksander Barkov.
"He's very calm when he's on the ice and a big guy. Of course, he's a Finnish guy so I like to watch him."
Kotkaniemi is familiar with the Blackhawks 2017 first round pick Henri Jokiharju, and has high praise for the future Chicago blueliner.
"Henri is a great player and person. I like him a lot. He's a great skater and he's a little bit like Erik Karlsson I think."
GROUP THREE
Alexander Alexeyev, Vitali Kravtsov, Sampo Ranta, Jan Jenik, Jakub Lauko, Kristian Reichel, Martin Kraut, Tyler Madden
Martin Kraut and Vitali Kravtsov were unavailable to media.
GROUP FOUR
Dominik Bokk, Jordan Harris, Liam Kirk, Grigori Denisenko, Michael Kesselring, Bode Wilde, Nico Gross, Alexander Khovanov
GROUP FIVE
Michael Callahan, Patrick Giles, Mattias Samuelsson, Rasmus Dahlin, Jack Gorniak, Jake Wise, Cole Fonstad, Jay O'Brien

GROUP SIX
Calen Addison, Serron Noel, Jonathan Tychonick, Seth Barton, Riley Stotts, Jett Woo, Jacob Bernard-Docker, Riley Sutter
GROUP SEVEN
Nicolas Beaudin, Alexis Gravel, Olivier Rodrigue, Eric Florchuk, Luke Henman, Andrei Svechnikov, Gabriel Fortier, Jared Mcisaac

GROUP EIGHT
Xavier Bernard, Anderson MacDonald, Giovanni Vallati, Xavier Bouchard, Kevin Mandolese, Joseph Veleno, Benoit-Olivier Groulx, Ty Smith
GROUP NINE
Jack Drury, Quintin Hughes, Brady Tkachuk, Ty Emberson, Matej Pekar, Oliver Wahlstrom, Curtis Hall, Jakub Skarek

QUINTIN HUGHES
Few NHL Draft prospects will have more Blackhawks connections than Quintin Hughes.
At the World Championships in Denmark this summer, Hughes joined Blackhawks players Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, Jordan Oesterle and Connor Murphy in representing Team USA. He became good friends with the Chicago representatives and thinks the Blackhawks at eight would make a good match.

"I think just the way they play, it'd be a good fit for me," said Hughes. "I think all the guys there were awesome. I played with Connor Murphy a bit and Alex DeBrincat, I had never met him before and I got to know him closely. He's a pretty good ping-pong player. It was good for me to meet those guys. Wherever I wind up, I end up but it was fun for sure."
Hughes said he sat next to Kane in the locker room.
The blueliner is NHL Central Scouting's sixth-ranked North American Skater.
OLIVER WAHLSTROM
Looking for a natural goal scorer in the upcoming draft? Look no further than Oliver Wahlstrom. The University of Boston commit has arguably the best shot in the draft, and he doesn't lack on confidence either.

"I think my game is a big, strong power forward with a lot of skill and creativity," said Wahlstrom. "I think my shot is my biggest asset. Humbly, I feel I have the best shot in this draft. I work on it every day."
Wahlstrom met with the Blackhawks and says he'd be "very lucky" to get selected by Chicago.
The right winger scored 48 goals this past season for the U-18 US National Team "A" and is NHL Central Scouting's seventh North American Skater.

GROUP 10
Noah Dobson, Blake McLaughlin, Tyler Weiss, Jonathan Gruden, Jackson Perbix, Filip Zadina, Philipp Kurashev, Jacob Pivonka
NOAH DOBSON
Noah Dobson, NHL Central Scouting's fifth North American Skater, is one of a handful of players at the combine who confirmed he had dinner with the Blackhawks.
"It was great," he said. "I had a good meeting with them and it was great to get to know them, to be off the ice and have a conversation with them. I went out to dinner with them on Thursday night, more of a casual environment to just get to know each other. All my meetings went well and I really enjoyed them."

Dobson can play in all situations and is considered one of the top defenders in the draft.
"I'm a two-way, puck-moving D. I obviously like to be reliable defensively and be able to play against the other team's top players. But at the same time, I like to get up in the rush and produce offensively."
Dobson had 69 points (17G, 52A) in 67 games this past season for Acadie-Bathurst in the QMJHL.
GROUP 10
Evan Bouchard, Joel Farabee, K'Andre Miller, Stanislav Demin, Blade Jenkins, Alex Regula, Sean Durzi, Ryan Merkley

GROUP 11
Kevin Bahl, Aidan Dudas, Allan McShane, Kody Clark, Barrett Hayton, Carter Robertson, Curtis Douglas, Joacob Ingham
GROUP 12
Ty Dellandrea, Mitchell Hoelscher, Akil Thomas, Liam Foudy, Jack McBain, Cameron Hillis, Ryan McLeod
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This concludes our 2018 NHL Combine coverage. Visit chicagoblackhawks.com/draft for even more exclusive draft content and stay tuned as we go on location in Dallas for the 2018 NHL Draft.*