The Western Hockey League, in partnership with Okanagan Hockey Group and Sport Testing Inc., announced today that the 2015 WHL Prospect Combines Program will begin in March across Western Canada.

Designed to assist minor hockey players with their skill development utilizing a state of the art testing system, the WHL Prospect Combines will consist of a full two-day camp which will include on and off-ice testing, on and off-ice skill development sessions, scrimmages, a nutrition, strength and conditioning seminar, and a presentation on the WHL player experience. The Camps will be open to players playing elite hockey and born in the years 2001, 2002 and 2003.
The second day is a new addition to the WHL Prospect Combines in 2015 which will give Combine participants the opportunity to receive testing feedback as well as a chance to receive on and off-ice development instruction and evaluation from staff.

“The game today is all about speed and skill,” commented WHL Commissioner Ron Robison. “As we witnessed during the World Junior’s to advance in the game today players require a high skill level. The WHL Combine Program is designed to assist young players in measuring where they are from a skill development standpoint.”

The WHL Prospect Combines will be operated on behalf of the WHL by the Penticton-based Okanagan Hockey Group, an International leader in hockey school instructional programs and hockey academics. Under its agreement with the WHL, Okanagan Hockey Group will provide the highest quality instructors and testing personnel for each WHL Prospect Combine.

“We are very excited for the upcoming Combine season as the addition of the second day to the Prospects Combines allows us to give further feedback and knowledge to the players that will allow them to put in place developmental tools that will assist them in reaching their goals in the game of hockey,” commented President of Okanagan Hockey Group Andy Oakes.

The testing systems for the WHL Prospect Combines will be supplied by Sport Testing Inc., a Toronto-based global leader in sport testing systems. The Sport Testing Inc. technology includes the most advanced athlete testing solution in the industry today.

The testing conducted at the WHL Prospect Combines will consist of a series of on and off-ice tests that will enable a player to compare their individual results, through the WHL database, with other players that have been tested by the WHL. The results will identify the strengths of a player as well as areas where improvement may be required.

Many current WHL players have taken part in Combine testing including Jake Virtanen (Calgary Hitmen), Sam Reinhart (Kootenay Ice), Brayden Point (Moose Jaw Warriors) and Madison Bowey (Kelowna Rockets). Many of the selections from the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft also took part in a WHL Combine including Jordan Bellerive (Lethbridge) and Michael Rasmussen (Tri-City Americans).

WHL Prospect Combines are scheduled to be held from March through June in Regina, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton.
For further information and to register please visit the WHL Combines page at www.whl.ca/page/whlcombines or http://okanaganhockey.com/whl-combines/whl-prospects-combines/.