Halifax Mooseheads star Nathan MacKinnon in among 101 invitees to the NHL draft combine. (Reuters)

TORONTO - How does an NHL team sort through a hundred potential draft picks at the annual scouting combine?

With some help from a magic pill of course.

That’s what some teams use, figuratively speaking, when delving into what makes an 18-year-old tick. You’d like to know as much as possible when making the lad an instant millionaire and giving him the star treatment and pressure accorded high selections.

Paul Dennis, former team psychologist with the Maple Leafs and now Professor of Sports Psychology at York University, was one of the evaluators that used the pill to help management make up its mind.

Would the player take a magic pill that guaranteed he would make the NHL right away, win the Calder Trophy, Stanley Cup and $5 million in endorsements — if it meant a 50% chance he’d die by age 30?