The top 10 prospects on each test at the 2024 NHL combine raise the question of whether they deserve to be chosen earlier at the draft as a result.

The NHL Draft Combine held at the Lecom Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo is always an exciting time for draft fanatics as it marks the countdown to the NHL draft. 

The 2024 Upper Deck NHL draft will be held inside the Sphere in Las Vegas, with the first round taking place on June 28 and then Rounds 2 through 7 on June 29. 

A total of 100 top prospects for the draft spent the last week in Buffalo interviewing with NHL teams and competing in a trial of fitness tests, which is their last opportunity to showcase their athleticism to the scouts.

The players participated in 12 physical events, with most of them taking place on Saturday. This included the famous Wingate test. The athletes completed their obstacle course with full effort for 30 seconds, while being encouraged by a coach to keep pushing. It does provide some quality entertainment and hearing the coaches yell echo around the rink is a special time.

Here are the top 10 performers for each fitness test at the NHL draft combine, briefly explaining each event.

Aerobic Fitness

The athletes are evaluated in two sections: the test duration and VO2 Max. They are assessed by measuring the amount of oxygen utilized during maximal cycle ergometer exercise, employing volume determination and analysis of expired air.

Test Duration
1. Cole Beaudoin - 13.45
2. Gabriel Eliasson - 13.14
3. Oliver Josephson - 13.05
4. Alfons Freij - 13.04
5. Herman Traff - 13.04
6. Eriks Mateiko - 13.00
7. Linus Eriksson - 13.00
8. Dean Letourneau - 13.00
9. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard - 13.00
10. Stian Solberg - 13.00

Seven of the top 10 were European players, four of them being Swedish.

VO2 Max (ml/kg/min)
1. Oliver Josephson - 65.0
2. Tij Iginla - 65.0
3. Simon Zether - 64.0
4. Macklin Celebrini - 63.0
5. Max Plante - 63.0
6. Cole Beaudoin - 62.0
7. Jacob Battaglia - 61.0
8. Aatos Koivu - 61.0
9. Linus Eriksson - 60.0
10. Julius Miettinen, Ben Danford, Ondrej Becher - 60.0

Anaerobic Fitness

The athletes are evaluated in three areas for this section. Their mean power output, peak power output, and fatigue index. These stats are provided from the 30-second Wingate bike test, which measures their leg power and fatigue levels.

Mean Power Output (watts/kg)
1. Jett Luchanko - 12.9
2. Alexis Bernier - 12.8
3. Linus Eriksson - 12.7
4. Sebastian Soini - 12.7
5. Aatos Koivu - 12.6
6. Leon Muggli - 12.4
7. Charlie Elick - 12.3
8. Anthony (A.J.) Spellacy - 12.1
9. Dean Letourneau - 12.1
10. Julius Miettinen, Ben Danford, Alfons Freij, Lukas Fischer - 12.0

Peak Power Output (watts/kg)
1. Anthony (A.J.) Spellacy - 18.3
2. Maxim Masse - 18.1
3. Linus Eriksson - 18.0
4. Ben Danford - 18.0
5. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard - 17.9
6. Alexis Bernier - 17.8
7. Dean Letourneau - 17.6
8. Aatos Koivu - 17.5
9. Sebastian Soini - 17.3
10. Charlie Elick, Lukas Fischer - 17.2

Fatigue Index
1. Oliver Josephson - 35.1
2. Ondrej Becher - 39.7
3. Ryder Ritchie - 40.5
4. Emil Hemming - 40.9
5. Christian Humphreys - 41.6
6. Tomas Lavoie - 41.7
7. Jett Luchanko - 42.3
8. Zayne Parekh - 42.4
9. Stian Solberg - 42.7
10. Raoul Boilard - 43.4

Pro Agility Test

This side-to-side shuttle run test measures the athletes' multi-directional speed and their body control. The players perform one sequence starting to the right and then one to their left.

Agility Left Side (Measured in seconds)
1. Stian Solberg - 4.12
2. Kamil Bednarik - 4.25
3. John Mustard - 4.26
4. Terik Parascak - 4.28
5. Michael Hage - 4.29
6. Sam O'Reilly - 4.33
7. Chalie Elick - 4.33
8. Lucas Pettersson - 4.34
9. Konsta Helenius - 4.34
10. Jack Pridham - 4.34

Agility Right Side
1. Stian Solberg - 4.08
2. Jett Luchanko - 4.23
3. Eric (E.J.) Emery - 4.23
4. Anthony (A.J.) Spellacy - 4.24
5. Terik Parascak - 4.25
6. Sam O'Reilly - 4.25
7. Alexis Bernier - 4.28
8. Jack Pridham - 4.29
9. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard - 4.29
10. Ethan Procyszyn - 4.30

Force Plate Jump

The athletes are evaluated in three areas for this section: their vertical jump, squat jump, and no arm jump. All three tests are measured in inches.

Vertical Jump (Measured in inches)
1. Eric (E.J.) Emery - 27.23
2. Jett Luchanko - 24.63
3. Veeti Vaisanen - 24.22
4. Will Skahan - 23. 88
5. Stian Solberg - 23.84
6. Mikhail Yegorov - 23.27
7. Jack Pridham - 22.83
8. Carson Wetsch - 22.76
9. Anthony (A.J.) Spellacy - 22.64
10. Artyom Levshunov - 22.64

Squat Jump
1. Jack Pridham - 19.52
2. Aatos Koivu - 19.08
3. Linus Eriksson - 18.96
4. Eric (E.J.) Emery - 18.82
5. Tij Iginla - 18.38
6. Ben Danford - 18.35
7. Carson Wetsch - 18.29
8. Jett Luchanko - 18.0
9. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard - 17.57
10. Dominik Badinka - 17.39

No Arm Jump
1. Eric (E.J.) Emery - 23.57
2. Veeti Vaisanen - 21.91
3. Jack Pridham - 21.21
4. Jett Luchanko - 21.11
5. Linus Eriksson - 20.75
6. Aatos Koivu - 20.42
7. Will Skahan - 20.24
8. Tij Iginla - 19.89
9. Anthony (A.J.) Spellacy - 19.82
10. Colin Ralph - 19.79

Horizontal Jump (Measured in inches)

The athletes attempt to jump from a standstill as far as they can.

Horizontal Jump 
1. Eric (E.J.) Emery - 123.0
2. Anthony (A.J.) Spellacy - 119.3
3. Mikhail Yegorov - 115.8
4. Jack Pridham - 114.5
5. Alexis Bernier - 114.5
6. Dean Letourneau - 114.5
7. Linus Eriksson - 113.8
8. Aatos Koivu - 113.0
9. Dominik Badinka - 113.0
Javon Moore - 113.0

A.J. Spellacy thought he had the horizontal jump test in the bag when he jumped for 119.3 inches. That was until the USA Hockey National Team Development Progam defenseman E.J. Emery almost cleared the measuring board with his job. When speaking with the media after his fitness testing, he said that wasn't even the highest score he's achieved for that test. 

Bench Press 50 Percent of Body Weight - Power (watts/kg)

Each athlete performs three reps at maximum velocity with a pause between each rep. A device is used to measure the velocity of the bar and the athlete's ability to produce power.

Bench Press (power watts/kg)
1. Cole Beaudoin - 8.71
2. Lukas Fischer - 8.26
3. John Mustard - 7.78
4. Cayden Lindstrom - 7.69
5. Sebastian Soini - 7.54
6. Raoul Boilard - 7.42
7. Sam O'Reilly - 6.95
8. Carson Wetsch - 6.92
9. Sam Dickinson - 6.92
10. Nathan Villeneuve - 6.88

Ten of the 21 OHL players who partook in the fitness testing finished in the top 25 of the bench press, including five in the top 10.

Grip Strength (Measured in pounds)

Left Hand Grip 
1. Jett Luchanko - 172
2. Cayden Lindstrom - 168
3. Eriks Mateiko - 166
4. Sacha Boisvert - 163
5. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard - 160
6. Kamil Bednarik - 159
7. Cole Beaudoin - 156
8. Ethan Procyszyn - 156
9. Adam Kleber - 156
10. Gabriel Eliasson - 155

Right Hand Grip
1. Jett Luchanko - 175
2. Cayden Lindstrom - 166
3. Colton Roberts -165
4. Gabriel Eliasson - 162
5. Jack Pridham - 162
6. Eriks Mateiko - 161
7. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard - 159
8. Tanner Henricks - 159
9. Kamil Bednarik - 158
10. Cole Beaudoin, Ethan Procyszyn, John Mustard - 158

Most Consecutive Pull-Ups

Pull-Ups
1. Zeev Buium - 16
2. Lukas Fischer - 15
3. Colton Roberts - 13
4. Jack Pridham - 13
5. Cole Beaudoin - 13
6. Oliver Josephson - 13
7. Tij Iginla - 13
8. Kamil Bednarik - 12
9. Ethan Procyszyn - 12
10. Kevin He, Tanner Howe, Mikhail Yegorov, Riley Patterson, Anthony (A.J.) Spellacy, Max Plante, Eric (E.J.) Emery - 12

Wing Span (Measured in inches)

1. Dean Letourneau - 83.25
2. Gabriel Eliasson - 81.00
3. Eric (E.J.) Emery - 80.75
4. Jesse Pulkkinen - 80.75
5. Eriks Mateiko - 80.25
6. Adam Kleber - 80.00
7. Tomas Lavoie - 80.00
8. Adam Jecho - 79.50
9. Will Skahan - 79.00
10. Sam Dickinson, Jared Woolley - 78.75

Body Fat Percentage

1. Eric (E.J.) Emery - 3.64
2. Sam Dickinson - 3.64
3. Ethan Procyszyn - 6.84
4. Mikhail Yegorov - 7.11
5. Simon Zether - 7.11
6. Anthony (A.J.) Spellacy - 7.18
7. Jett Luchanko - 7.2
8. Maxim Masse - 7.33
9. Lucas Pettersson - 7.37
10. Lukas Fischer - 7.45

It's worth noting that the expected No. 1 pick, Macklin Celebrini, only finished in the top 10 for one event. For those curious about last year's first-overall pick, Connor Bedard's stats, he also only appeared in the top 10 of one event, where he was tied for the second most pull-ups with 14.

However, having a bad combine isn't the end of the world. But can a really good combine improve your draft stock?

Players like  Emery and Luchanko would sure hope so, as the two displayed their athleticism for everyone to see. Both prospects finished with the most first-place finishes with three, and you could give Emery a fourth if you include his unworldly low body fat percentage of 3.64 percent. I guess there aren't a lot of fast-food trips for him and his family.