18 year-old Broncos F Cody Eakin is fresh off attending the NHL Combine in Toronto.Eakin tested well and placed 4th overall in the VO2 Max Test. Cody informs me he didn't spill his breakfast either in the test that often has a bucket nearby due to the physicality of it.
The Winnipeg native, who just turned 18 last Sunday, was interviewed by 24 NHL teams at the Combine.
Cody answered all sorts of questions. A lot of the teams wanted to know about prior injuries. Some even asked about teammate Justin Dowling who was not at the Combine.
Eakin has been training hard this off-season and tells me he's added about 10 lbs since the season ended putting him at a very lean 184 lbs.
We will see where he falls come draft day in Montreal. There seems to be a consensus that Eakin will be taken somewhere in the 2nd round. If that holds true he could be the highest Bronco NHL draft pick since Duncan Milroy in 2001 (2nd round 37th overall).
The Broncos had four players drafted in 2008 but don't expect the number to be that high in this draft. There could be as many as three chosen with Dowling and Joel Rogers a possibility. One thing we've learnt over the years is to expect some surprises on draft day.
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Local product and four-year Kootenay Ice graduated player Andrew Bailey is looking at the potential of playing pro hockey next season.
Bailey has an offer to play pro in Holland next season. If he doesn't go that route expect Bailey to attend school at the University of Saskatchewan and play for the Huskies.
I'm really surprised Bailey hasn't been invited to an NHL camp this fall. He's a pretty complete player who was one of the best in the league last season.
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The Moose Jaw Warriors will announce Jeff Truitt this morning as their next General Manager / Director of Hockey Operations to replace Chad Lang.
Although not having a first-hand look on how Truitt handles the hockey side of things, I can tell you if it's anything like his character than it's top notch. I'm glad to see Jeff back in the WHL.
No one is really sure where Warriors Head Coach Dave Hunchak fits into things yet. I've been told he's safe. More should be known later today when the Warriors hold a news conference.
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This may be the only update for awhile. As you can probably tell over the last few weeks, I'm on blogger hiatus. It's going to be a very busy hockey season again and I enjoy my off-season as much as anybody in the league.
For now, there isn't much happening anyways... at least not in these parts.
Jon
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