Most of the 2026 NHL draft class is in Buffalo to interview with teams and undergo fitness testing. Here's what you need to know about the schedule, changes for the fitness testing this year and more.
The annual NHL draft combine is underway in Buffalo this week, featuring some of the future stars we'll see in the NHL.
NHL teams will get official measurements of plenty of 2026 draft-eligible players, such as Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, Chase Reid, Caleb Malhorta and Keaton Verhoeff, and will also have the opportunity to speak with them and see them participate in physical tests.
The scouting combine takes place at the KeyBank Center and LECOM HarborCenter. The NHL draft, which is set for June 26 and 27, will also take place in Buffalo.
NHL Draft Combine Schedule
Throughout the week, team management staff and scouts from around the NHL will have the opportunity to talk with prospects.
On Thursday and Friday, there are four fitness tests that happen, which are not open to the media: Y-balance, grip strength, isokinetic squat strength, and aerobic fitness.
On Friday, top prospects will be asked questions in media scrums during the afternoon.
Saturday is fitness testing day, followed by a media availability for all the participants. On top of measuring standing height and wingspan, Saturday's testing will evaluate musculoskeletal fitness and anaerobic fitness.
Changes To Fitness And Physical Testings
Although many of the tests will still be run, there are some changes.
The pro agility test will remain, along with the bench press, pull-ups, horizontal jump, force plate vertical jump, grip strength, and the Wingate cycle ergometer test. The classic VO2 max aerobic tests will also be conducted.
The new tests that will be conducted in 2026 are the isokinetic squat test and the 10-meter sprint. This will allow teams to see how these players use their lower bodies during the test.
The isokinetic squat test will measure lower-body strength, as it requires the player to squat using specialized machinery that controls movement speed. As the player pushes against the machine, the equipment matches their force, maintaining a constant speed throughout the full range of motion. Controlling the speed allows the prospect to generate maximal force throughout the motion.
The 10-meter sprint will measure a player's acceleration and speed, as its short distance will force the players to push off hard from a standstill. Each player gets two tries with about a minute in between, and the faster time will be reported.
Records And Fun Facts
Although the combine can be a great indicator of the physical traits players have developed or lack, it's not the be-all and end-all.
In the past, Sam Bennett or Casey Mittelstadt failed to do a single pull-up at the combine, but both players have gone on to have long NHL careers. In other cases, we've seen players impress at the combine but fail to make the NHL.
Since 2015, the five players with the most pull-ups all took part in the 2022 scouting combine:
1. Jack Hughes (Los Angeles, 51st overall in 2022): 19 pull-ups
T-2. Lane Hutson (Montreal, 62nd in ’22): 18 pull-ups
T-2. Jake Karabela (Washington, 149th in ’22), 18 pull-ups
T-4. Julian Lutz (Arizona, 43rd in ’22), 17 pull-ups
T-4. Matthew Poitras (Boston, 54th in ’22), 17 pull-ups
Of that top five, only Hutson and Poitras have played NHL games so far, and the latter spent most of this season in the AHL. Hutson, meanwhile, has the third-most career points by players drafted in 2022, with 146 in 166 games. He also leads the class in career points per game among those who played at least five games, with 0.88.
In the agility test, we've seen outstanding times since results were published online in 2014, highlighted by Toronto Maple Leafs top prospect Easton Cowan. He set the combine record in 2023 with a time of 4.07 seconds. Anaheim Ducks prospect Stian Solberg ranks second with a time of 4.10.
The most recent record set was by Pittsburgh Penguins prospect William Horcoff in 2025. He set the record for the longest horizontal jump, at 124.80 inches.
Although most tests haven't been tracked online as long, the longest-standing combine record is Sean Farmer's 196.9-pound grip strength result in 1995.
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