PRINCE GEORGE, BC- Cougars forward Brett Connolly is among the 100 players eligible for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft who received an invitation to this year’s NHL Scouting Combine. The combine, which runs from May 24 to May 29 in Toronto, gives NHL teams a chance to meet with and interview prospects prior to the June draft.

 

Connolly was side-lined with an injury for most of the 2009/2010, but still managed to earn 19 points in the 16 games he played with the Cougars, including 3 goals in the final 2 games of the season.

 

The 2009 CHL Rookie of the Year, Connolly is expected to be chosen in the first round of the 2010 Entry Draft. In a mock draft posted yesterday by NHL.com's Adam Kimelman, Mike G. Morreale, Jen Raimondi, Shawn P. Roarke and Brad Holland, he was predicted to go as high as fifth, to as low as 14^th.

 

This year's invitation list includes top prospects from all corners of the globe, including the two most-talked-about prospects -- Windsor Spitfires left wing Taylor Hall and Plymouth Whalers center Tyler Seguin.

Also on the list are the top defensemen available -- Erik Gudbranson of the Kingston Frontenacs, Brandon Gormley of the Moncton Wildcats, Windsor's Cam Fowler and the Edmonton Oil Kings' Mark Pysyk.

Top goalies Jack Campbell of the U.S. National Team Developmental Program and Calvin Pickard of the Seattle Thunderbirds also will be in attendance.

Some of the best European-based prospects coming over include Russian forwards Vladimir Tarasenko, Maxim Kitsyn and Evgeny Kuznetsov, Swedish forward Ludvig Rensfeldt and German forward Tom Kuehnhackl.

 

For more information on the NHL Scouting Combine, check out www.nhl.com.