BUFFALO Boston University center Jack Eichel showed he has a fitness level to match his tremendous on ice skills at the 2015 NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo on Saturday.
Eichel, NHL Central http://www.hockeyicepractice.com/aaron-ekblad-jersey-c-760.html


Scouting s No. 2 ranked North American skater for the 2015 NHL Draft, finished in the top 10 among all prospects at the fitness testing in seven categories.
Among his top accomplishments was lasting 12 minutes and 15 seconds on the VO2 Max bike test, which measures a player s endurance. The only player to match Eichel was Gatineau Olympiques center Iakov Trenin. Seattle Thunderbirds right wing Keegan Kolesar stayed on for 12 01, and Portland Winterhawks left wing Paul Bittner and center Joel Eriksson Ek of Frolunda of the Swedish Hockey League tied for fourth at 12 minutes.
Eichel also excelled in the pro agility test, which was a shuttle run of five, 10 and five yards. Starting to his right he was the second fastest prospect, completing the test in 4.24 seconds; starting to his left he tied for eighth at 4.48 seconds.
In addition Eichel tied for the fourth most repetitions on the bench press with 16; had the fifth best vertical jump at 26.18 inches; tied for the fifth best long jump at 115 inches; and had the strongest right hand grip at 176 pounds.
Erie Otters center Connor McDavid, Central Scouting s top rated North American skater had two top 10 finishes. He tied for fourth in the pro agility test to his left, finishing it in 4.43 seconds, and he was fifth in left hand grip at 165 pounds.
Prince Albert Raiders defenseman Brendan Guhle, No. 56 on Central Scouting s list, matched Eichel with seven top 10 finishes.
Guhle led all prospects with a http://www.hockeyicepractice.com/aaron-ekblad-jersey-c-760.html


peak power output score of 19.9 on the Wingate bike tests, which measures a player s explosive leg power. The 6 foot 1, 184 pound left shot defender also had the best long jump at 122 inches, and the fourth highest vertical leap at 26.77 inches.
He tied for third most pull ups with 12; tied for the fifth fastest in the pro agility test starting right at 4.39 seconds; the seventh fasted in the pro agility starting left at 4.47 seconds; and tied for the seventh most repetitions on the bench press with 15.
Four players had peak power output scores better than 19.0 on the Wingate Kamloops Blazers right wing Deven Sideroff at 19.5; Regina Pats left wing Austin Wagner at 19.4; Barrie Colts goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood at 19.2; and left wing Karch Bachman from Culver Academy Ind. at 19.1.
As a point of comparison, the leader in this category at the 2014 Combine was William Nylander at 17.5.
Center Colin White of the United States National Team Development Program under 18 team swept the top spots in the pro agility test, http://www.hockeyicepractice.com/nashville-predators-c-1034.html


finishing in 4.34 seconds starting to his left and 4.21 seconds starting to his right.
Wagner had the highest vertical jump at 28.74 inches.Seattle left wingRyan Groppwas next at 27.44 inches, followed byBlackwood at 27.28 inches.
Regina left wing Jesse Gabrielle did 20 repetitions on the bench press, topping all prospects. Cedar Rapids RoughRiders left wing Erik Foley and Regina defenseman Connor Hobbs each did 17. Joining Eichel with 16 reps was Ottawa 67s center Travis Konecny and Cape Breton Screaming Eagles left wing Evgeny Svechnikov.
Shawinigan Cataractes left wing Dennis Yan topped all prospects with 14 pull ups, one more than Konecny.
Finishing second to Guhle in the long jump was Blackwood at 118.Hockey Practice 9 inches, followed by Kingston Frontenacs left wing Lawson Crouse at 116.1 inches.
USNTDP goaltender Luke Opilka and Saint John Sea Dogs left wing Samuel Dove McFalls had the strongest left hand grip at 180 pounds. Dove McFalls had the second strongest right hand grip at 175 pounds, http://www.hockeyicepractice.com followed by Blackwood and right wing Mikko Rantanen of TPS in Finland at 174 pounds.