The Eastern Hockey League sets aside multiple weekends each spring for teams to check out players that can potentially play in the junior hockey league for the upcoming season.

And the EHL Combine Series has delivered the past few seasons as many players that have showcased their talents have found their way onto EHL and EHLP rosters, including many from Western states such as Arizona, California and Colorado.

“Our combines have shown to be beneficial to players and teams alike,” said EHL commissioner Neil Ravin. “With more than 100 players at one location, our league coaches and GMs can take note of who they liked and take advantage of the opportunities to talk to the players and their families during the combines. It’s really a win-win for everyone involved and many of our teams come across diamonds in the rough, players that we really didn’t know much about that made an impact during the weekend.”

This past spring, the EHL staged two combines, one in Rochester, N.Y., and one in the Detroit suburbs in Brighton, Mich. Both continued to bring EHL-ready players to shine in front of many teams.

“While we recognize that not every player that comes to the combines will sign with one of our clubs, the format of the combines maximizes each players’ time so that teams can watch them play and talk to the players that catch their eyes,” Ravin said. “What’s also great about the combines is that players choose to register and by doing that, want to play in our league. Our coaches don’t send out blanket recruiting emails with unreasonable promises. They don’t need to. The combines help the teams get a head start in building their rosters.”

Location is also key to the combine events. This year, by bringing players to hockey hotbeds of Western New York and Detroit, those areas are already saturated with talent that have the ability to hone their games in the EHL. Rosters from the 2025-26 season carried dozens of Michigan and New York players. Past events have been held in Massachusetts and Arizona.

“We plan the locations in a strategic manner,” Ravin said. “We want to go where the players are. If we had a combine in an area that doesn’t have a tradition of high-level players, then that makes no sense and things like travel can play a negative role. By having these events in cities where hockey has long been a hot spot, there are players already there and they are easy destinations to travel to. Lots of thought and preparation go into these events and we feel we’re only getting started.”

At this spring’s events, every EHL team was present for at least one combine and a majority had at least one representative at both.

For more information on the EHL, visit easternhockeyleague.org.

Photo/Lauren Farris

— Matt Mackinder

(July 9, 2026)