The final day of the NHL combine in Buffalo, New York, tested the athleticism, strength and stamina of many of the top prospects who are vying to get selected high in the 2016 NHL draft.
While several big names such as Patrik Laine, Jesse Puljujarvi, Matthew Tkachuk and Olli Juolevi opted against taking part in drills Saturday, presumptive No. 1 overall pick Auston Matthews went full bore, and likely top-five pick Jakob Chychrun turned some heads as well.
In addition to a closer look at how Matthews and Chychrun performed, here is a rundown of notable measurements and drill results. More comprehensive numbers are available at the NHL Central Scouting website.
Combine Measurements
Player | Height | Weight (Pounds) |
Vitaly Abramov | 5'9" | 175 |
Adam Fox | 5'10.75" | 185 |
Tim Gettinger | 6'5.75" | 200 |
Libor Hajek | 6'1.5" | 196 |
Simon Stransky | 5'11" | 185 |
Tage Thompson | 6'5.5" | 195 |
William Bitten | 5'10" | 167 |
Filip Hronek | 6'0" | 163 |
Lucas Johansen | 6'1.75" | 175 |
German Rubtsov | 6'0.5" | 190 |
Mikhail Sergachev | 6'2.25" | 221 |
Jake Bean | 6'0.75" | 173 |
Kale Clague | 5'11.75" | 184 |
Dillon Dube | 5'10.5" | 183 |
Samuel Girard | 5'9" | 160 |
Brett Howden | 6'2" | 190 |
Luke Kunin | 5'11.25" | 193 |
Pascal Laberge | 6'1" | 174 |
Maxime Lajoie | 6'0.5" | 180 |
Auston Matthews | 6'2.25" | 216 |
Dennis Cholowski | 6'1" | 177 |
Jakob Chychrun | 6'2" | 200 |
Pierre-Luc DuBois | 6'2.25" | 205 |
Dante Fabbro | 6'0.5" | 192 |
Evan Fitzpatrick | 6'2" | 203 |
Carter Hart | 6'1" | 180 |
Tyson Jost | 5'11" | 190 |
Jordan Kyrou | 6'0" | 169 |
Tyler Benson | 5'11.5" | 197 |
Logan Brown | 6'6.25" | 220 |
Julien Gauthier | 6'3" | 231 |
Noah Gregor | 5'11.25" | 175 |
Michael McLeod | 6'2" | 185 |
Alexander Nylander | 6'0.5" | 178 |
Sam Steel | 5'11" | 178 |
Kieffer Bellows | 6'0" | 197 |
Alex DeBrincat | 5'7" | 165 |
Jack Kopacka | 6'1.75" | 191 |
Ryan Lindgren | 5'11.75" | 203 |
Nathan Bastian | 6'4.5" | 206 |
Trent Frederic | 6'1.75" | 204 |
Boris Katchouk | 6'1.25" | 190 |
Clayton Keller | 5'10" | 164 |
Logan Stanley | 6'7" | 224 |
Riley Tufte | 6'5" | 211 |
Patrik Laine | 6'3.75" | 201 |
Adam Mascherin | 5'9" | 193 |
Cam Morrison | 6'2.5" | 209 |
Taylor Raddysh | 6'1.5" | 203 |
Rasmus Asplund | 5'10.25" | 176 |
Henrik Borgstrom | 6'3" | 176 |
Cam Dineen | 5'11" | 185 |
Carl Grundstrom | 5'11.5" | 195 |
Linus Lindstrom | 5'11.75" | 165 |
Charles McAvoy | 6'0.25" | 199 |
Filip Gustavsson | 6'1.5" | 190 |
Combine Test Results
Aerobic Fitness: Test Duration | ||
Pos. | Player | Time |
1 | Logan Stanley | 12:30 |
2 | Tanner Kaspick | 12:12 |
3 | William Knierim | 12:00 |
4 | Taylor Raddysh | 12:00 |
5 | Charles McAvoy | 12:00 |
6 | Tyson Jost | 12:00 |
7 | Julien Gauthier | 11:43 |
8 | Connor Bunnaman | 11:35 |
9 | Logan Brown | 11:30 |
10 | Andrew Peeke | 11:30 |
Aerobic Fitness: VO2max | ||
Pos. | Player | mL/kg/min |
1 | Carter Hart | 65 |
2 | Evan Fitzpatrick | 62 |
3 | Brandon Gignac | 62 |
4 | Wade Allison | 61 |
5 | Jacob Cederholm | 61 |
6 | Michael McLeod | 61 |
7 | Sam Steel | 60 |
8 | Zachary Sawchenko | 60 |
9 | Tanner Kaspick | 59 |
10 | Joseph Raaymakers | 59 |
Agility & Balance: Pro Agility Left | ||
Pos. | Player | Total |
1 | Matthew Cairns | 4.3 |
2 | Luke Green | 4.31 |
3 | Jordan Kyrou | 4.35 |
4 | Cameron Morrison | 4.4 |
5 | Joseph Raaymakers | 4.42 |
6 | Jonathan Ang | 4.47 |
7 | Auston Matthews | 4.48 |
8 | Max Zimmer | 4.48 |
9 | Connor Bunnaman | 4.49 |
10 | Pierre-Luc DuBois | 4.5 |
Agility & Balance: Pro Agility Right | ||
Pos. | Player | Total |
1 | Luke Green | 4.19 |
2 | Matthew Cairns | 4.33 |
3 | Jordan Kyrou | 4.33 |
4 | Pierre-Luc DuBois | 4.33 |
5 | Luke Kunin | 4.37 |
6 | Trent Frederic | 4.41 |
7 | Joseph Raaymakers | 4.43 |
8 | Max Zimmer | 4.43 |
9 | Matt Filipe | 4.44 |
10 | Ty Ronning | 4.46 |
Anaerobic Fitness: Mean Power Output | ||
Pos. | Player | watts/kg |
1 | Jonathan Ang | 12.5 |
2 | Jesper Bratt | 12.5 |
3 | Libor Hajek | 12.4 |
4 | William Lockwood | 12.2 |
5 | Henrik Borgstrom | 12.1 |
6 | Jakob Chychrun | 12.1 |
7 | Alexander Nylander | 12.1 |
8 | Luke Green | 12.0 |
9 | Mikhail Sergachev | 12.0 |
10 | Dillon Dube | 11.9 |
Anaerobic Fitness: Peak Power Output | ||
Pos. | Player | watts/kg |
1 | Alexander Nylander | 21.1 |
2 | William Lockwood | 19.3 |
3 | Jonathan Ang | 18.7 |
4 | Rasmus Asplund | 18.6 |
5 | Pierre-Luc DuBois | 18.6 |
6 | Ty Ronning | 18.4 |
7 | Kale Clague | 18.3 |
8 | Henrik Borgstrom | 18.2 |
9 | Auston Matthews | 18.1 |
10 | Jakob Chychrun | 18.0 |
Anaerobic Fitness: Fatigue Index | ||
Pos. | Player | Total |
1 | Michael Graham | 29.9 |
2 | Trent Frederic | 42.1 |
3 | William Knierim | 43.7 |
4 | Nicholas Caamano | 44.9 |
5 | Wade Allison | 45.3 |
6 | Jesper Bratt | 45.5 |
7 | Griffin Luce | 47.0 |
8 | Samuel Girard | 47.8 |
9 | Dante Fabbro | 47.9 |
10 | Vitaly Abramov | 48.3 |
Vertical Jump | ||
Pos. | Player | Inches |
1 | Luke Kunin | 28.98 |
2 | Julien Gauthier | 26.69 |
3 | Mitchell Mattson | 25.59 |
4 | Chad Krys | 25.59 |
5 | Noah Gregor | 25.28 |
6 | Jakob Chychrun | 25.24 |
7 | Jordan Kyrou | 24.61 |
8 | Max Zimmer | 24.17 |
9 | Wade Allison | 23.74 |
10 | Luke Green | 23.66 |
Bench Press (70-80% of Body Weight) | ||
Pos. | Player | Reps |
1 | Samuel Girard | 15 |
2 | Vojtech Budik | 14 |
3 | Tyson Jost | 14 |
4 | Graham McPhee | 14 |
5 | German Rubtsov | 14 |
6 | Carl Grundstrom | 14 |
7 | Chad Krys | 13 |
8 | Wade Allison | 13 |
9 | Alexander Nylander | 13 |
10 | Matt Filipe | 13 |
Pull-Ups Consecutive | ||
Pos. | Player | No. |
1 | Jonathan Ang | 15 |
2 | Sam Steel | 13 |
3 | Clayton Keller | 12 |
4 | Carter Hart | 12 |
5 | Artur Kayumov | 11 |
6 | Noah Gregor | 11 |
7 | Givani Smith | 11 |
8 | Pierre-Luc DuBois | 11 |
9 | Rasmus Asplund | 11 |
10 | Griffin Luce | 11 |
Breaking Down Top Prospects
Auston Matthews
After being one of the top scorers in the Swiss league this past season and Team USA's best player at the World Championships, Matthews entered the combine as a virtual lock to go No. 1 overall to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Even so, the Arizona native decided to take part in a full allotment of drills, acquitting himself well across the board.
Here is a look at how Matthews performed, courtesy of the Toronto Star's Kevin McGran:
Drill | Result |
Standing Long Jump | 106 inches |
Standing Vertical Jump | 21.102 inches |
Pro Agility Test Left | 4.48 seconds |
Pro Agility Test Right | 4.52 seconds |
Bench Press | 6 reps |
Pull-Ups | 8 |
Wingate Cycle Peak Power | 18.1 watts per kilogram |
Wingate Cycle Mean Power | 11.9 watts |
The NHL's official Twitter account provided a Vine of Matthews' performance in the agility test:
Craig Custance of ESPN The Magazine captured some video of Matthews working his way through the pull-up drill:
He also tweeted a video of Matthews pushing himself on the arduous Wingate cycle:
Media swarmed Matthews following his day of testing, and as seen in this video courtesy of the Edmonton Oilers, the talented American was happy with his showing and the fact that he got to measure himself against many of the draft's other top prospects:
Matthews seemingly had little to gain and a lot to lose since he was already entrenched as the top pick, but that didn't stop him from competing, much like Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel did last year.
All eyes were on Matthews with so many other big names not participating in the drills, and he showed why he is considered the consensus No. 1 player.
Matthews already has NHL-caliber size, strength and agility, and all the pieces are in place for him to be a star from day one.
Jakob Chychrun
With Laine sitting out lower-body drills after injuring his knee Friday and other top prospects also not taking part in drills Saturday, Chychrun had an opportunity to solidify his status as the top defenseman in the draft and a deserving high pick.
The Sarnia Sting blueliner ranked inside the top 10 in mean power output, peak power output and the vertical jump.
His showing especially impressed NHL.com's Mike Morreale:
As seen in this photo from the Toronto Maple Leafs' Twitter account, Chychrun showed off his considerable athleticism and leg strength during the force plate test:
Jakob Chychrun gets up there at the Force Plate test. #NHLCombine #TMLtalk pic.twitter.com/ydVDsPlM0S
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) June 4, 2016
When interviewed following the combine, Chychrun displayed a positive attitude and seemed pleased with his overall performance, according to the Winnipeg Jets on Twitter:
Most mock drafts have Matthews, Laine and Puljujarvi coming off the board in the first three picks, but things appear to be open beyond that.
Chychrun, Juolevi and Mikhail Sergachev are all in the running to be the top defenseman in the draft, and Chychrun may have put himself in the driver's seat in that debate at the combine.
The Florida native also has a strong body of work after posting 49 points in 62 OHL games this past season, and he proved to the NHL teams that were keeping tabs on him Saturday that he has the physical ability to match his on-ice production.
Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.
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