This is how it went for the Swedes at the NHL Combine
The world’s greatest hockey talent debuted in Buffalo ahead of this summer’s NHL draft.
Then Axel Sanden Bilica, 18, impressed in the physical tests.
– They say it’s great to do a lot of push-ups, says the back promise.
On June 28, the 2023 NHL Draft started in Nashville. Among the favorites to participate in the first round is Skellefteå AIK defender Axel Sanden Bilica.
On Monday, he went home after a week in Buffalo and the “NHL Combine,” where about a hundred players expected to be selected early can undergo physical and medical tests, while clubs can interview them.
Axel, who has played 33 SHL games and impressed in both the JVM and U18 WC this winter, has been interviewed by 24 clubs out of 32.
– There were many meetings, but they went quickly and were fun. everyone is beautiful.
And what do you want to know?
It’s different from team to team, but most people would like me to describe myself as a hockey player and how to be a person off the ice. Then some strange questions may come out of nowhere.
like what?
– There was a team asking: If you want to be an animal, which one and why?
Curious about it.
– Since my surname is Pellikka, I wanted to say Pelican. But the explanation depends only on the name, so I answered Cheetah. Because he is fast and loves to hunt.
Thanks dad: “Skater”
The last two days have been time for tests, which include everything from bench press and intervals on a bike to measuring players’ explosive power.
– Day one was VO2max, where you sit on the bike and basically spin until you can’t take it anymore.
The result shows the maximum volume of oxygen in milliliters per kilogram of body weight per minute. Axel was indicated with a 61.0 which gave joint seventh place.
– It must have had to do with the father and his genes, he was a skier. Obviously I also trained him myself, but I have to thank him a little bit.
But where did you get your bench press genes? Or is it just training?
Axel laughs, knowing full well that he was the best bench press ever. The test consists of lifting half of the body weight three times at maximum speed to obtain a corresponding force value.
Mostly training. You know, when covid was new and they closed all the series, we had to train a lot ourselves. I don’t think there was a single session in the gym that I didn’t bench press during the covid season. I did my sit up and then did the bench press with the bar after that to get stronger in it. They say it’s great to bench press a lot. But I’m totally shocked because I was actually number one in it.
Is it a bit prestigious to win it?
– Exactly, it’s the coolest branch.
The weekend ended with Wingate, a course test that tests a player’s maximum power output and can “simulate” a hard changeup on the ice.
– It’s 30 seconds of bike riding, you have to ride the bike until you’re speechless. It’s worse than VO2 I think. When I was sitting in the rehab room afterward, some were sitting and vomiting on the floor. You had to sit down and cover your ears,” Axel says of the test in which countryman Noah Daure Nelson came first.
Bédard crept into the hotel
Canadian Conor Bedard, the self-described “generational talent” ranked first in the draft, was also in attendance. He made the second most chins (14), but he also excelled in other respects.
– We were going to do some medical tests where they run through the body and see how the heart beats and so on. Was on the bus on the way back but had to enter through a private entrance in the hotel while the rest of us had to go to the lobby. Because there were probably 50 people who wanted autographs that they could resell. So the interest around him was noticeable.
On the next flight across the Atlantic, the plan is for Axel to bring his entire family with him.
We’ll sit together and wait for my name to come up sometime anyway.
Do you follow expert ranking lists?
– I saw that someone put me in the fifth place and someone put me in the twenty-fifth. It’s wide in the middle and a lot of speculation, so you never know what’s going to happen.
are you nervous
– No, it’s mostly marked. You just have to enjoy the whole process. It would be very interesting for him to be selected by any team, but after the draft the real work begins. I just try to enjoy the moment and focus on summer fitness, says Axel Sandin-Belica.
are you nervous
– No, it’s mostly marked. You just have to enjoy the whole process. It would be very interesting for him to be selected by any team, but after the draft the real work begins. I just try to enjoy the moment and focus on summer fitness, says Axel Sandin-Belica.
