Combine notebook | Catton on his growth, relationship with the Sabers and more

Catton recorded 116 points (54+62) in 68 games for Spokane of the Western Hockey League and finished fourth in the league in scoring to be named to the All-American Division First Team. the WHL.

The No. 8 ranked North American skater according to NHL Central Scouting, Catton captained Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in August, scoring a tournament-best eight goals to win gold.

Catton has been described as a potential top-six center with a competitiveness to match his elite skating, but the 18-year-old is most proud of how he has developed his shot.

“I knew at 16 I thought I had a good season, but I wasn’t scoring as much as I would have liked,” he said. “And I knew it was because my shot was (not) where it should be, so I knew I had to work on that this summer. Finally I did it and it paid off.

Catton’s shooting regime is a little out of the ordinary in that he has constructed a makeshift goalie out of wood to sit in his net. He practiced shooting from the locations he usually goes to during matches to continue to improve his shooting.

“It’s probably not very well done, but it holds up,” he says with a laugh. “I really enjoy being back out there and working on my craft.”

Here are some other takeaways from the day of testing at the combine.

1. The group included familiar names such as Tij Iginla, Aatos Koivu and Max Plante, sons of former NHL players Jarome Iginla, Saku Koivu and Derek Plante.

Plante’s father spent five full seasons with the Sabers before being traded to Dallas near the end of the 1998-99 season.

During his media interview, Plante noted how cool it was to participate in the combine in the city his father loved.

“He loved being here,” Plante said. “A bit of his starting point in the NHL.

“He says the city welcomed him. He had a bulldog here – like a dog. It’s sort of become a sort of team mascot. But yes, he loved the city.

2. Questions are asked of prospects during their meetings so that teams and players can get to know each other better. While the most frequently asked questions this year were about education and how players would describe themselves, there was one question that Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, the No. 5 ranked international skater by NHL CSS who could be the Norwegian player highest drafted of all time, I didn’t expect that.

“Probably the strangest was: ‘Describe the color blue.’ I just said, ‘Try looking in the sky and see,'” he shared with a laugh.

Some teams even had players compete against staff in board games.

3. Click here for complete fitness testing results from the 2024 NHL Scouting Combine.