NHL Draft profiles: Emery has makings of shutdown defenseman

This is the fourth story in a series of player profiles from the NHL's Scouting Combine in Buffalo, N.Y., focusing on potential second-round picks for the Penguins at 44th and 46th overall.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- If there was a real standout from the fitness testing in last week's NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo, N.Y., it was right-handed defenseman EJ Emery.

It was perhaps the horizontal jump test where Emery stood out the most among close to 100 participants. From a standstill, Emery leapt 10 feet and three inches forward, nearly clearing the board used to measure the jumps and finishing almost four inches better than the next finisher. 

"I got a little farther before," Emery said afterward with a smile. "I probably could have gotten a little farther."

Emery went on to finish tied for the second-best time in the side-to-side shuttle run agility test starting on his right side. He finished first in the vertical jump at 27.23 inches, nearly three inches higher than the second-place finisher. He finished first in the jump with arms at his sides at 23.57 inches. He tied for fourth in his jump from a squat at 18.82 inches. His 12 pull-ups tied for eighth. 

"You know, I think a big part of my game is how athletic I am," Emery said of his results. "I had to go out there and show everyone that I'm truly athletic. It's a competition. I came here to be the best here."

While there are several players bigger than Emery's 6 foot 3 and 183 pounds at the combine, he measured with the third-largest wing span at 80.75 inches -- definitely helpful for a defenseman who is looking to have that long reach. 

Emery, 18, is a product of the U.S. National Team Development Program, where he recorded 16 assists and led the team's defensemen with a plus-34 rating in 61 games, and recorded six assists and a plus-5 rating in the program's games in the USHL.

The U18 program's head coach Nick Fohr told NHL.com earlier this season that Emery is "tall and long, super-athletic, really fast skater who covers a lot of ice, a lot of ground, really quickly."

Emery cited his speed as one of his big strengths himself, a product of all that athleticism and explosiveness that was on display at the combine.

"I would say I'm a great-skating defenseman who's able to close out plays really quickly, get the puck up to the forwards, and a guy who can break the puck up very well and get shots through on the offensive side and make a couple plays," Emery told me.

On his defensive game, Emery said that he "always wants to not let someone get to net. I want to outwork them to get that puck back. I think the biggest thing is how hard I compete, and my willingness to be great in that area."

Emery tries to model his game after that of the Rangers' K'Andre Miller, pointing to Miller's athleticism and skating. He also admires the Senators' Jake Sanderson, particularly for his breakout abilities, speed and deception in his game.

Moving forward, Emery said that he thinks the biggest areas of his game that need improvement are his poise with the puck and not rushing plays, as well as using his great speed more to his advantage.

The athleticism Emery has is in part due to his work ethic. He credited strength coach Joe Meloni with setting him up for success, too. But there's also some natural athleticism, too -- Emery is the son of Eric Emery, who is from Louisiana but grew up in Compton, Calif. and played NCAA football for California State-Fullerton before going onto play professionally in the Canadian Football League with the BC Lions, Calgary Stampeders and Ottawa Rough Riders.

"He was an athletic freak, for sure," Emery said of his dad's playing career. "Just the way he can move and how fast he was, he's a tough dude. He grew up in a tough part, so that edge and that dog is always in him. Just watching him play with that was pretty awesome."

Emery played football himself until age 13, playing running back, safety and wide receiver. He called hockey his "first love," but said that football was the backup plan if hockey didn't work out. Emery's dad was pretty OK with his son not following in his footsteps, having become a hockey fan himself after attending a Kings game.

"He went to a hockey game one time, his first ever hockey game, and there's a line brawl," Emery said of his dad. "So after that, he was pretty stoked with me playing hockey."

While Emery didn't ultimately need to fall back on that backup plan of football, he thinks that his time playing football benefited him in ways that carry over to hockey now.

"When you're playing running back and guys are coming around the middle and hitting you, it sucks," he said. "But when I go out there on the ice rink, I'm used to it now, because I grew up with that aspect of getting blown up a couple times in football. So it makes me feel a lot more comfortable."

Ranking vary on where Emery will be drafted later this month in Las Vegas. NHL Central Scouting ranked Emery as the 39th-best North American skater in the final rankings -- which is also right where Emery ranked in the midseason rankings. He didn't rise or fall in the order. The Elite Prospects consolidated rankings that average several major ranking services have Emery ranked 40th, which would be right around where the Penguins pick in the second round at 44th and 46th overall. Some rankings (Elite Prospects, Flo Hockey FC Hockey) have Emery rising into the first round, while others (Bob McKenzie, Dobber Prospects, Recruit Scouting) have Emery as an early- to mid-second-round pick.

If Emery is still on the board when the Penguins are on the clock, he'd make a great pick for a team still desperately in need of more defense prospects. Emery met with 30 teams total over the week in Buffalo, and the Penguins were one of them.

Looking ahead to next season, Emery is committed to the University of North Dakota, saying "the coaches and the players and the community really made me feel at home, made me feel comfortable, made me feel like they're going to look out for me" of his decision. He also liked that Grand Forks wasn't the most exciting of towns, quipping that "when you go to North Dakota, there's nothing there besides hockey. So I'll be completely dialed in."

Emery has the makings of a real shutdown defenseman at the pro level. It'll take him some time to get there as he goes the college route first, but that strength and speed he has already should benefit him when he does make that jump to the pro game.