Hockey

2026 NHL Scouting Combine Results: McKenna Tops VO2 Max Aerobic Fitness Test

By Andre Leal The Hockey News

The 2026 NHL scouting combine has officially wrapped up with the league providing the final results from Saturday's testing.

Some of the top prospects eligible for the upcoming 2026 draft participated in several events at the combine, including pull-ups, sprints, bench press, jumping tests, and more.

It's not very common for the top-rated prospects going into the draft to have notable outings at the combine in terms of their results. However, there have been a couple of exceptions for the 2026 edition.

2026 NHL Draft Combine Schedule, Changes And Previous Records
2026 NHL Draft Combine Schedule, Changes And Previous Records

2026 NHL Draft Combine Schedule, Changes And Previous Records

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.

Viggo Bjjorck landed himself in the top 10 of some events. That includes a third-best 16 pull-ups, which makes him tied for the fourth-most in NHL combine history. He also had notable performances in the Anaerobic and Aerobic tests, as well as the bench press, despite clocking in at 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds.

One of the most impressive athletes of the day was Ilia Morozov, who just went through his freshman year with Miami University in the NCAA.

Morozov finished in the top 10 in six categories. That includes the isokinetic squat, force plate vertical and no-arm jump, tied in third for the right-handed grip test, second-place in pull-ups with 17 reps, and led the class in the left-handed grip test.

In fact, with an overall score of 182.5, Morozov has the fifth-best score in NHL combine history. Also, with 17 pull-ups, he matches the fifth-best all-time score in that event.

Here are the top-10 performers from each event at the 2026 NHL scouting combine.

Horizontal Jump (Distance Inches)

  1. Niklas Aaram-Olsen - 118.0
  2. Wesley Royston - 116.8
  3. Timofei Runtso - 116.0
  4. Xavier Villeneuve - 115.0
  5. Maddox Dagenais - 114.8
  6. Layne Gallacher - 114.8
  7. Beckham Edwards - 114.0
  8. Charlie Morrison - 114.0
  9. Jakub Vanecek - 113.3
  10. Cole Zurawski - 112.5

VO2 Max Aerobic Fitness (ml/kg/min)

  1. Gavin McKenna - 65.0
  2. Xavier Villeneuve - 64.4
  3. Malte Gustafsson - 61.0
  4. Jan Larys - 60.0
  5. Juho Piiparinen - 60.0
  6. Oliver Suvanto - 59.0
  7. Wyatt Cullen - 58.7
  8. Matias Vanhanen - 58.0
  9. Keaton Verhoeff - 57.8
  10. Cole Zurawski - 57.3

Pro Agility – Left Time (sec)

  1. Beckham Edwards - 4.2
  2. Niklas Aaram-Olsen - 4.2
  3. Cole Zurawski - 4.2
  4. Ethan MacKenzie - 4.3
  5. Layne Gallacher - 4.3
  6. Simon Katolicky - 4.3
  7. Timofei Runtso - 4.3
  8. Mathis Preston - 4.4
  9. Oliver Suvanto - 4.4
  10. Keaton Verhoeff - 4.4

Pro Agility – Right Time (sec)

  1. Niklas Aaram-Olsen - 4.2
  2. Beckham Edwards - 4.2
  3. Ethan MacKenzie - 4.3
  4. Keaton Verhoeff - 4.3
  5. Layne Gallacher - 4.3
  6. Jayden Kurtz - 4.3
  7. Mathis Preston - 4.3
  8. Cole Zurawski - 4.3
  9. Timofei Runtso - 4.3
  10. Caleb Malhotra - 4.4

Isokinetic Squat (lb/lb BW)

  1. Pierce Mbuyi - 3.62
  2. Mathis Preston - 3.57
  3. Adam Novotny - 3.43
  4. Gavin McKenna - 3.40
  5. Layne Gallacher - 3.33
  6. Ilia Morozov - 3.32
  7. Adam Valentini - 3.30
  8. Jack Hextall - 3.27
  9. Victor Plante - 3.22
  10. Wyatt Cullen - 3.08

10m Sprint (sec)

  1. Cole Zurawski - 1.97
  2. Thomas Vandenberg - 2.02
  3. Niklas Aaram-Olsen - 2.04
  4. Layne Gallacher - 2.04
  5. Juho Piiparinen - 2.04
  6. Mathis Preston - 2.04
  7. Jayden Kurtz - 2.05
  8. Tyus Sparks - 2.05
  9. Ryan Lin - 2.06
  10. Landon Nycz - 2.06

Anaerobic Fitness (watts/kg)

  1. Layne Gallacher - 17.3
  2. Niklas Aaram-Olsen - 17.2
  3. Ethan MacKenzie - 17.2
  4. Mathis Preston - 17.2
  5. Zach Olsen - 16.8
  6. Malte Gustafsson - 16.7
  7. Landon Nycz - 16.7
  8. Maksim Sokolovskii - 16.7
  9. Alessandro Di Iorio - 16.6
  10. Charlie Morrison - 16.6

Wingspan (Inches)

  1. Oscar Hemming - 80.3
  2. Maksim Sokolovskii - 80.0
  3. Brady Knowling - 79.8
  4. Oliver Suvanto - 79.3
  5. Brooks Rogowski - 79.0
  6. Ethan Belchetz - 78.8
  7. MichaL Orsulak - 78.8
  8. Luke Schairer - 78.8
  9. Vilho Vanhatalo - 78.8
  10. Landon Nycz - 78.5

Anaerobic Fitness (Fatigue Index / % Drop From Peak)

  1. Victor Plante - 39.1
  2. Thomas Vandenberg - 39.4
  3. Casey Mutryn - 41.1
  4. Jack Hextall - 41.2
  5. Jaxon Cover - 41.5
  6. Jonah Sivertson - 42.3
  7. Cooper Williams - 42.3
  8. Viggo Bjorck - 42.6
  9. Thomas Bleyl - 42.9
  10. Blake Zielinski - 44.1

Force Plate No Arm Jump (Inches)

  1. Beckham Edwards - 20.9
  2. Landon Nycz - 20.6
  3. Lincoln Kuehne - 20.3
  4. Juho Piiparinen - 20.3
  5. Charlie Morrison - 20.1
  6. Ryan Lin - 20.0
  7. Ilia Morozov - 19.9
  8. Gavin McKenna - 19.5
  9. Matias Vanhanen - 19.4
  10. Niklas Aaram-Olsen - 19.3

Force Plate – Vertical Jump (Inches)

  1. Charlie Morrison - 25.4
  2. Wesley Royston - 24.8
  3. Matias Vanhanen - 24.2
  4. Lincoln Kuehne - 23.3
  5. Ryan Lin - 22.8
  6. Caleb Malhotra - 22.8
  7. Landon Nycz - 22.6
  8. Ethan MacKenzie - 22.4
  9. Ilia Morozov - 22.1
  10. Xavier Villeneuve - 21.9

Bench Press (Watts/KG)

  1. Landon Nycz - 7.5
  2. Pierce Mbuyi - 7.1
  3. Ethan MacKenzie - 6.9
  4. Mathis Preston - 6.8
  5. Simon Katolicky - 6.7
  6. Wesley Royston - 6.7
  7. Niklas Aaram-Olsen - 6.6
  8. Ryan Lin - 6.6
  9. Juho Piiparinen - 6.6
  10. Liam Ruck - 6.4

Right Hand Grip (lb)

  1. Ryder Cali - 182
  2. Lincoln Kuehne - 182
  3. Ilia Morozov - 181
  4. Charlie Morrison - 181
  5. Oscar Hemming - 176
  6. Ethan MacKenzie - 175
  7. Jakub Vanecek - 175
  8. Giorgos Pantelas - 173
  9. Maksim Sokolovskii - 173
  10. Malte Gustafsson - 170

Left Hand Grip (lb)

  1. Ilia Morozov - 184
  2. Giorgos Pantelas - 183
  3. Oliver Suvanto - 181
  4. Maksim Sokolovskii - 180
  5. Cole Zurawski - 178
  6. Charlie Morrison - 174
  7. Lincoln Kuehne - 171
  8. Casey Mutryn - 170
  9. Alessandro Di Iorio - 168
  10. Oscar Hemming - 168

Pull-Ups (Reps)

  1. Adam Novotny - 18
  2. Ilia Morozov - 17
  3. Viggo Bjorck - 16
  4. Jakub Vanecek - 16
  5. Jonas Lagerberg Hoen - 15
  6. Ethan MacKenzie - 14
  7. Pierce Mbuyi - 14
  8. Gavin McKenna - 14
  9. Mathis Preston - 14
  10. Wesley Royston - 14

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The Hockey News

This story was originally published June 6, 2026 at 7:03 PM.

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