St. Lawrence University rising-sophomore defenseman Gavin Bayreuther was one of just two current NCAA players to receive an invite to the 2014 NHL Draft Combine in Toronto, joining Boston College goaltender Thatcher Demko.
Bayreuther, a smooth-skating blue liner from Canaan, New Hampshire, found the back of the net nine times and added 27 assists in his rookie season in Canton. A former USHL All-Rookie Team honoree, he was named the 2014 ECAC Hockey Co-Rookie of the Year as well as making the All-Rookie Team.
A former player at the Holderness School, a prep school in Plymouth, NH, Bayreuther transitioned nicely to the college game. His biggest upside is his offensive abilities from the back end, but he doesn't lack defensive composure.
Bayreuther wasn't the only player with ties to ECAC Hockey to be invited to the combine. Three recruits and a former commit were also pegged to attend the combine in Toronto later this month.
Harvard commit Ryan Donato, son of head coach Ted Donato, will be in Toronto. The Dexter School junior is slated to arrive in Cambridge for the fall of 2015. A likely second or third round pick in this summer's NHL Draft, Donato played in the 2013 CCM All-American Prospects Game and tore up the prep school circuit this winter.
Joining Donato among Ivy League recruits to be in Toronto is Cornell commit Beau Starrett of the South Shore Kings in the USPHL Premier Division. Starrett, a former star player at Catholic Memorial, will be attending Cornell in the fall.
A current Brown commit as well as a former recruit are both slated to be in Toronto. Tyler Bird, a former standout at St. John's Prep, played for first year head coach Tim Whitehead at Kimball Union Academy this winter. The big power forward honed his skills with the former Maine bench boss for the prep school power in Meriden, NH.
Goaltender Blake Weyrick, a de-commit from Brown, will also be in Toronto. The USNTDP goaltender will most likely spend a year in the USHL next season before deciding on a college destination. The Malibu, Calif. native was picked up by the Tri-City Storm in the 10th round of the 2014 USHL Phase II Draft.