NHL Combine Fitness Tests: What They Measure
The NHL Combine testing begins at 7:30 AM.
BUFFALO, NY — Happy Saturday! It’s a bright and early day here at the 2025 NHL Draft Combine. The first group begins their fitness test at 7:30 AM. Michael Misa goes at 9:30 AM, while Matthew Schaefer and James Hagens will go at 10:30 AM.
Here’s the workouts that most of the draft prospects will be doing — some, like Matthew Schaefer, aren’t doing a few of the workouts due to injury/rehab — along with why those are the workouts chosen.
Phil Jewell, a former Strength and Conditioning coach at Institute 3E, a facility that designs programs to help its athletes take their game to the next level, provided insight for this story.
I3E is an elite sports performance facility that helps athletes of all levels achieve success on and off the field. Using a unique approach, Institute 3E integrates athletic conditioning, mental edge coaching, lifestyle education, and physical regeneration to create a comprehensive program tailored to meet the specific needs of each athlete.
Marty Necas, Adam Fox, Shane Pinto, Matt Coronato, Sonny Milano, Marshall Warren, and Ross Mitton are some of the names who trained for the combine at I3E.
Bench Press
Measures upper-body strength and power.
A major focus is generating force quickly, which closely relates to hockey-specific movements, such as pushing off defenders.
The NHL Combine utilizes a device to measure bar velocity, with the score recorded in watts per kilogram — a power-related metric.
Pull-Ups
Valuable indicator of wrist shot power.
During the pull-up, the prime mover is the Latissimus dorsi, which is the major muscle for generating wrist shot power.
reps only count through full range of motion.
Power related.
Grip Strength
Measures hand grip muscle strength on each hand.
Athletes apply maximum force to a handheld device.
Also power-related.
Horizontal Jump
Tests a player’s explosive power and agility in generating horizontal force.
Example: simulates stop-and-start actions in a game.
Agility Test
A lateral movement test measures agility, body control, and the ability to change direction efficiently.
Wingate Test
Typically, a 30-second bike test is used to assess anaerobic power, specifically explosive leg power, and fatigue level.
(Note: NHL resistance levels used for this test are currently unknown.)
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These dudes are so young 17 18 years old. It is really a gamble! Maybe the most important thing is to find out who absolutely loves the game. Somehow you have to determine does this guy have the hunger now and the personality to sustain that hunger. These kids can really blossom or can completely drop off a cliff. Michael Dal Colle, Bellows, Bodie Wilde, and Walhstrom all first round busts. Matthew Schaefer has had to grow up quickly and deal with some very tough situations. I think everything he has been through only makes him a safer pick. I would hire the best Shrinks and balance it with the scouting and analytics. Drafting Athletes are always a gamble because of Health, injury etc. Then a large percentage of the guys kinda in their mind climbed the mountain already by being drafted. The real guys you want is the ones that view the draft as a beginning not an end game. The ones that always seem to have that chip. I hope Darche and team can make us more successful on the Draft front. That one aspect might be the most important. Look at Simon Holmstrom, he will develop into a high end forward. Whomever scouted that kid hit a homerun!