Preston, Lin Impress in Fitness Testing at NHL Combine
Buffalo, NY – Vancouver Giants forward Mathis Preston ranked among the top-10 in seven different events during fitness testing Friday and Saturday at the 2026 NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo, New York.
Teammate Ryan Lin also impressed, finishing top-15 in seven events.
Over 80 prospects took part in fitness testing.
To see the full results, click here.
Among Preston’s best performances was in the isokinetic squat test, where he finished second at 3.57, which equates to squatting 3.57 times his body weight. He also tied for second on the Wingate test at 17.2 watts per kilogram of body weight and tied for third in the 10-metre sprint at 2.04 seconds.
Additionally, Preston finished fourth in bench press power, producing 6.8 watts per kilogram; recorded 14 pull-ups, which tied for sixth best; and finished top-10 in both pro agility runs (left and right).
Preston is ranked 32nd among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting on their final list for the 2026 draft.
Lin’s best performance was the force plate vertical jump, where he leaped 22.8 inches, tied for fifth-best.
He also finished sixth in the no-arm vertical jump (20.0 inches) and was tied for seventh in bench press at 6.6 watts per kilogram.
Additionally, Lin tied for T-9th in the 10-metre sprint (2.06 seconds), T-11th in pull ups (13), T-11th in the isokinetic squat test (3.05) and T-13th in the horizontal jump (109 inches).
Lin is ranked 16th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting on their final list for the 2026 draft.
Lin and Preston had standout performances for Canada at the IIHF Men’s U18 World Championships in April. Both were tied for 8th in tournament scoring, with Lin leading all defencemen in points with six (1G-5A). Preston recorded two goals and four assists, and led Canada in shots on goal (21). Lin also ranked first in plus-minus (+7).
To see the full results from fitness testing, click here.
