2026 NHL draft combine rundown: 2 new events added to the fold originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The NHL scouting combine, hosted in Buffalo, is approaching the main stretch of the six-day event, taking place from June 1 to June 6. Friday and Saturday will mark the main events of the combine, including physical testing and press conferences for top prospects ahead of the 2026 NHL draft, which will be held on June 26 and 27.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have the first overall pick for the upcoming draft, with Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg being the two players who are projected to get selected at No. 1.
Unlike athletes in other leagues such as the NFL and NBA, who are tested on the field or court, these NHL prospects are not tested on the ice.
Part of the reason is that players are travelling to the combine from all over the world, and to test on the ice, they would need all their equipment. There is far more equipment required for a hockey player than for a basketball or football player, for instance.
With that, there will be around 85 players featuring at the combine this year.
While it would be interesting for the NHL to hold on-ice drills for scouts to observe, the NHL’s combine has gone on without on-ice testing for several years now.
At the NHL scouting combine, all the testing is strictly physical, testing each player’s fitness levels. Here are the tests that the NHL draft-eligible prospects will partake in, as explained by NHL.com.
Bench Press
The exercise: “Conducted using a standard padded bench with the athlete lifting 50% of his body weight (pre-determined) utilizing free weights (including the barbell). The athlete lies on his back on the bench and grips the barbell with thumbs approximately shoulder width apart. The starting position is with the arms fully extended, The bar is lowered to the chest, after a slight pause, athlete pushes the bar as quickly as possible until their arms are fully extended. Each athlete will perform three (3) reps at maximum velocity, with a slight pause between each rep at the chest position. A “Gym Aware” device will be used to measure the velocity of the bar and the player’s ability to produce power and the reported ‘best score’ will be measured in average watts/kg.”
The bench press event has been around since 2018.
Two members of the Montreal Canadiens hold the best results in this test. Prospect Filip Mesar sets the standard, performing a 9.43 watts/kg rep in 2022. Defenseman Jayden Struble is a very close second, recording a 9.42 w/kg in 2019.
Only five players have registered a rep over nine, four of whom did so in 2022.
Pull Ups
The exercise: “Evaluates athletes’ forearm and upper arm flexor muscular strength plus endurance along with core stabilization. Records the maximum number of consecutive repetitions performed with the correct technique.”
It was another strong year for the 2022 draft class when it comes to the pull-up event. Though this test has been around for just over a decade, the top five results for this event come in 2022.
Leading the way is Los Angeles Kings prospect Jack Hughes with 19 reps, which is the sole record. Behind him are Montreal’s Lane Hutson and Washington Capitals prospect Jake Karabela, who both completed 18 reps. After that, it’s Boston Bruins‘ Matthew Poitras and Utah Mammoth draft pick Julian Lutz with 17 reps.
The pull-up test is popular, thanks to Sam Bennett’s infamous set in 2014, when he couldn’t complete a single pull-up. Nonetheless, Bennett turned out to be a fourth overall pick in the 2014 draft and is now a two-time Stanley Cup champion and a Conn Smythe Trophy winner.
Horizontal Jump
The exercise: “The athlete stands with feet slightly apart with toes behind the jumping line. Using an arm swing to assist, the athlete jumps as far as possible. The distance from the jumping line to the heel mark in the best of three trials is recorded to the quarter inch (previously named standing long jump).”
The horizontal jump is an older event compared to some of the others and has been around since 1998. However, a new record was set just last year.
Pittsburgh Penguins prospect William Horcoff – son of former Edmonton Oilers captain, Shawn – set the record with a 124.80-inch jump in 2025. He surpassed the previous record set by EJ Emery in 2024 at 123 inches.
This is proof that athletes today are becoming stronger, faster, and overall more impressive athletically.
MORE: 2026 NHL Draft Combine Schedule, Changes And Previous Records
Force Plate Vertical Jump – Arm Swing
The exercise: “An AccuPower Dual Force Plate system will be used to objectively measure the direction, strength and timing of the three-dimensional (3D) forces that the athlete produces during hockey related movement. The vertical jump combines the two qualities of sprint (quick) and agility (smooth) components. Ideally, athletes quickly load the vertical jump on their downward descent, before smoothly stopping and using this energy to accelerate upwards to jump. By analyzing the whole force vs time curve, teams can individualize and identify what the athlete needs to improve upon in order to dramatically increase their performance and reduce injury rates.”
The force plate vertical jump, around since 2015, hasn’t seen a new record since 2016. Forward Luke Kunin holds the best result with a 28.98-inch jump.
The best results for this test have mostly occurred before the 2020s. In fact, Emery is the only athlete who’s been eligible for a 2020 draft or later to feature in the top 10. Nashville Predators 2025 draft pick Ryker Lee slots in with a 12th-best 25.67-inch jump.
Pro Agility Test
The exercise: “5-10-5 yard shuttle (or 15-30-15 feet) evaluates multi-directional speed, agility and whole body reaction plus control. This is a timed test utilizing a laser timer. The scores below represents the average of the Left & Right Pro Agility Test.”
Of course, this event is highlighted by the most agile players of each draft class. While that’s typically an attribute that favors forwards, it’s defensemen who dominate the top 12 for the pro agility test.
Toronto Maple Leafs winger Easton Cowan tops the chart with a 4.07-second time in 2023. But between Cowan and the 12-best times, there are seven defensemen, including Stian Solberg and Sean Barnhill, who set the best times at the 2024 and 2025 combines, respectively.
MORE: 2026 NHL mock draft: Maple Leafs, Sharks win big in draft lottery
Grip Strength
The exercise: “The athlete adjusts a hand grip dynamometer to his hand size, fully extends his arm and squeezes the dynamometer as forcefully as possible. The test is conducted on both hands. The scores below represents the average of the Left & Right Grip Test.”
The grip strength test has not seen a new record-holder since 1995, and no one has come close to the two leaders.
First is Sean Farmer, who went undrafted and never played in the NHL. However, he registered a 196.9-pound force. Behind that rep is Georges Laraque, who played 619 NHL games and was known as one of the toughest characters in his generation. He notched a 191.3 score.
Wingate Cycle Ergometer Test
The exercise: “The athlete is positioned on a professional grade spin bike (Watt Bike) cycle ergometer so that when the pedals are turned the leg that is in the “down” position is just slightly less than fully extended. The feet should be secured to the pedals in stirrups.”
The Wingate cycle ergometer test is arguably the most physically intense and demanding event in the rundown.
Two members of the Calgary Flames lead the way in the history of this event. Left winger Samuel Honzek has the record of reaching a peak power of 22.4 w/kg. Behind him is defenseman Hunter Brzustewicz, reaching 21.7.
Both of these top attempts were recorded in 2023.
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VO2 Max Aerobic Fitness
The exercise: “Cardio-respiratory (aerobic) fitness refers to the capacity of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems to supply oxygen to the muscles. High intensity activities which are continued for two minutes or longer, or repeated bouts of high intensity exercise with minimal recovery time, are limited by this capacity. Aerobic fitness is assessed by measuring the amount of oxygen utilized (VO2max) during maximal exercise employing volume determination and analysis of expired air. In addition, heart rate is monitored continuously, providing data for heart rate based training. This test will be performed on a professional grade spin bike (Watt Bike) cycle ergometer using a Cortex Metalyzer VO2 cart.”
This test is another that hasn’t seen a new best score in quite some time. The leader of the VO2 max aerobic fitness test is Igor Musatov, with his score set in 2006.
Musatov went undrafted and never played in North America. He spent his entire hockey career in Russia.
Brandon Segal had the next-best score, set in 2002, and he played just over 100 NHL games for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Kings, Dallas Stars and New York Rangers.
New Events: Isokinetic Squat Test, 10-Meter Sprint
The isokinetic squat test and the 10-meter sprint are the two new events making their debut at the 2026 combine.
“We’ve always tweaked a little bit of what the protocol will be just to give the teams as much information as they can get from these young players,” NHL Central Scouting associate director David Gregory said on the NHL Draft Class podcast.
“The isokinetic squat is assessing the lower extremity strength, which is really important in hockey.
“The sprint is testing how quickly you can get up to speed and what speed you can generate in a short period of time, which is great for hockey, because you’re going for 30-60 seconds and going quick speed. There’s a cable attached to the player that’s going to track what kind of strength they have and how quickly they get up to speed,” Gregory said, explaining the two new tests.
