Juniors add unique twist to NFL draft

After attending the NFL scouting combine at Indianapolis, Rick Spielman, vice president of player personnel for the Vikings, said "a lot of the juniors are going to be at the top of the crop this year."

That's especially true among quarterbacks. Georgia's Matthew Stafford, USC's Mark Sanchez, Kansas State's Josh Freeman and Ball State's Nate Davis all opted to leave school early and are regarded as the top four quarterbacks in the draft, leaving Rhett Bomar of Sam Houston State (formerly of Oklahoma) at No. 5.

But Spielman said there are young players available at various positions worth drafting.

"We're always trying to get better," Spielman said. "Not only at that [quarterback] position, but we're also trying to get better at every other position as well. Last year, there were a lot of offensive tackles. This year, I think, this tackle group is pretty equivalent to last year's. I think there a lot of good centers and guards as well.

"I think, a lot of times, you don't like to see the juniors come out early, but with some of the juniors that came into the draft, it really strengthened the draft a lot. I know the colleges and we would like kids that aren't in the top five to stay in college and develop for another year, because they can potentially improve their draft status."

Spielman also talked about the tests the teams give the players and the changes that have been made in that area.

"It's basically an intelligence test -- it's a 12-minute test, and there are 50 questions on the test," he said. "Usually, we grade it on how many questions they get right, not how many they get wrong."

"A lot of kids coming out get schooled on it by the agents, and somehow they get hold of these Wonderlic tests," Spielman said. "We've taken a step further and have another test that we give them, that actually verifies whether the Wonderlic score is legit or not, and that test you cannot study for because it is more of a picture test, not a problem-solving test. That's how we go about it. There are guys that have high Wonderlics, that you question. We have a test that verifies that."

The evaluation process is designed to narrow down the list of prospects.

"I think as you go through the process, the picture will become clearer," Spielman said. "Right now, this is a huge part of the process down at the combine. And as we go through the spring workouts, now you can put the evaluation together -- your scouts had all year to put together the evaluations, because the coaches are in a process now -- now you're getting all the verified times, height, weight, you have the medical scores back, the Wonderlic scores, the psychological scores, so now that becomes clearer as we get closer to the draft."

Burke says NHL better Brian Burke, the Edina native who is now the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, believes everything about the NHL is getting better.

"I think the rule changes that were made coming out of the lockout have made the game better," said Burke, who was in town to make a speech. "I think there are a whole bunch of teams that have experienced good growth this year. I think the league is in great shape. We've got a couple of problem spots, but overall, I think the league is in terrific shape."

"I think within the U.S. in particular," he said. "You look at the number of first-round picks we've had for U.S.-born kids, the national development program in Ann Arbor -- I think hockey in the U.S. is in a boom phase."

Burke said there is a lot of pressure in his new job in Toronto, where he moved in November after four years and one Stanley Cup victory in Anaheim.

"It's hard to explain to people," he said. "The pressure on the general manager in Toronto is the same as the pressure on the Vikings and Twins combined. There's nothing like it. But that's OK. I worked in Canada, and I don't mind the pressure."

He doesn't see league expansion in the near future.

"There's a couple of markets that profess interest and say they want a team, but that doesn't mean it's the best thing for our league," he said. "We've gone into some markets where we've struggled with the product, and I'm not sure the time is right, in this economic climate, to expand. I'm not sure we have markets that make sense, but we'll see. Again that's not my pay grade. That's up a level from me."

"I've told you this before: I think they've done everything right from the very first day," Burke said. "I think they're going to make the playoffs, I believe that. And they're going to be a problem for somebody in the playoffs. The way they play, with their goaltender and their size, they're going to be a problem."

Jottings Tramaine Brock, who may have been the best defensive back on the Gophers last fall, is attending Gulf Community College, where he originally attended, trying to make up some academic work so he can be eligible this fall. ... Gophers football coach Tim Brewster and his staff are excited about the athletic ability shown by quarterback MarQueis Gray and linebacker Spencer Reeves, who enrolled in school this past January. ... Brewster sees a possibility of redshirt freshman Ryan Grant being the team's long snapper, playing on special teams and competing for a first-team linebacker position. ... Ryan's brother Taylor Grant, a junior tight end and quarterback at Eden Prairie, is being recruited by Iowa and has been invited to its junior football day. ... The Gophers athletic department has budgeted $800,000 for a new basketball floor in Williams Arena with the work expected to start June 1 and completed by Sept. 1. ... The Wild plays Friday at Calgary, the beginning of a stretch in which the Wild plays 14 of 17 games on the road. Friday will also mark the fifth of 15 consecutive games against the Western Conference. Minnesota is 2-0-1 in the past three games against the West and 19-21-3-1 this season.

Beginning Thursday, the Xcel Energy Center will host sporting events 19 out of 27 days, including high school hockey and wrestling tournaments, the WCHA Final Five and Wild games. In total, there will be 41 hockey games and over 700 wrestling matches, concluding with the Wild game March 22 against Edmonton.

Walter Bush Jr., a giant in U.S. hockey and chairman of the USA Hockey Board, will be inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame (International Hockey Federation ) on May 5 in Bern, Switzerland.