Victoria Royals defenceman Chaz Reddekopp and forward Tyler Soy made glaring leaps in the final Central Scouting rankings for the 2015 NHL draft.
Now the NHL teams will get to poke and prod the Royals pair first-hand. They are among 24 WHL players, among the 120 invitees from the around the world, headed to the NHL scouting combine Monday through Saturday in Buffalo. The combine includes interviews with NHL GMs and dryland fitness testing.
Soy is the 78th-ranked North American skater for the 2015 draft, an improvement of 74 spots from his mid-season ranking of 152nd. Reddekopp is rated 82nd among North American skaters, after an even more dramatic leap of 117 spots from his mid-season ranking of 199th.
“I’ve been working on getting better every single day and it was nice to get recognition for that. It was reassuring to know that you’re doing the right things,” Reddekopp said from his home in West Kelowna.
The six-foot-four, 220-pound rearguard has been working out mostly off-ice since the Royals were eliminated by the Kelowna Rockets in the second round of the WHL playoffs.
“The NHL combine is going to be exciting. I’ve been doing a lot of dryland strength training to become stronger, and it will be nice to show them [NHL teams] that,” said the iron man, who appeared in all 72 regular-season games for Victoria. Reddekopp is most effective in his own zone, although he is expanding his game and sees action on the point on the Royals’ second-team power-play unit. He had five goals and 21 points this season
Soy is six-feet, but only 172 pounds. His quick and elusive moves to the crease make him an opportunistic offensive threat. He scored 28 goals and had 63 points in 69 games for Victoria.
The NHL draft is June 26-27 in Sunrise, Florida.
“Obviously, you’re going to think about it,” Reddekopp said.
And there’s no one story that can encapsulate a draft year.
“What Joe [Hicketts] showed last year is even if you don’t get drafted, it’s not the end of the world,” Reddekopp said.
He was referring to his Royals blueline mate Hicketts, who signed a pro contract with the Detroit Red Wings and won gold with Canada at the world junior championships despite being overlooked in the 2014 NHL draft.“That’s motivating, but you try not to compare yourself to other players,” Reddekopp said.
So bring on the tape measurements, medicine balls, standing high jumps, psychological tests and the rest of it. There are two Royals ready for it.
