Top NFL prospects routinely skip the Scouting Combine. NBA lottery types wouldn't be caught dead at the various predraft camps. But that attitude doesn't fly in hockey. When the world's best prospects gather May 30 to June 3 in Toronto, every NHL team will get total access to the 2006 draft class.

But the players won't be there to skate, handle the puck and stop shots. They'll be there so NHL general managers, coaches and scouting directors can get to know them on a more personal level.

Each team submits a list of players it wants to meet; interviews last 30 minutes apiece. To crack language barriers, NHL Central Scouting provides translators. "Most of the kids from Sweden and Finland speak terrific English," says Al Murray, amateur scouting director for the Kings. "The Czechs and Russians are getting better all the time. If we're interviewing 20 Europeans, five will need interpreters, certainly no more than 10. Half these kids speak better English than I do."

Then players go through three hours of tests and examinations to get physical measurements, evaluate fitness and ferret out problems. The NHL is on alert for heart conditions, especially after this season's collapse of Red Wings defenseman Jiri Fischer.

Who's No. 1?

Unlike in 2005, when Sidney Crosby was the consensus No. 1 pick, or in 2004 with Alexander Ovechkin, there won't be a clear-cut top prospect available when the Blues pick first. "The top-end players are fewer, but there are a lot of kids with potential," Murray says. "It's really wide open.

I don't want to say it's a weak draft, but there's a lot of uncertainty."

American Erik Johnson is the undisputed No. 1 defenseman. The other top prospects are forwards: American Phil Kessel; Canadians Jordan Staal, Jonathan Toews and Derick Brassard; and Swede Nicklas Backstrom.

115: Prospects invited to the combine. Occasionally, a player might decline because of distance (that trip from Magnitogorsk can be brutal) or a commitment (some prospects are still in school). Evgeni Malkin, drafted second in 2004, is the most notable recent no-show.

97: Percent of invitees over the past six years who were drafted.

3: Staal brothers at the past four combines. Eric (2003, Hurricanes) and Marc (2005, Rangers) will advise brother Jordan, who is a top five prospect. Baby brother Jared is on the way.

Yankee doodle dandies

The quality of American players continues to improve. A record eight American-born players were first-round picks in 2005, and this year Johnson, Kessel and forward Peter Mueller are top 10 prospects. At least three more Americans could go in the first round. Credit USA Hockey's development teams and the U.S. Hockey League, considered by many the fourth North American juniors program.

"We have invited 10 guys from the U.S. national program, a record for invitations to players from one team," Central Scouting manager Brandon Pridham says. "That program is spewing out prospects."

Ray Slover is an associate editor for Sporting News. E-mail him at rslover@sportingnews.com.

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