The NHL's top prospects take a long, strange trip to make it in the big leagues. Imagine being 18 years old and one of the most talented hockey players in your age group, anywhere. Your life is about the next game, the next practice, the next level — and then you get invited to the NHL Combine (this year's edition of which has been going on all week in Buffalo).
Suddenly, it's about tests, reviews and interviews, and kids who aren't really accustomed to talking about themselves are stuck trying to decide what to say on the two-page questionnaire that virtually all of them fill out.