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🚨🏒 NHL Combine Recap — Ethan MacKenzie Puts North Dakota on the Podium
Yesterday’s NHL Combine in Buffalo featured 90 of the top prospects in the world — and one incoming UND defenseman made sure Grand Forks was represented on the leaderboard.
Ethan MacKenzie, who is coming to North Dakota next season after posting 22 goals and 58 points in 59 games with the Edmonton Oil Kings, finished 3rd overall in the bench press power test with a score of 6.9 watts per kilogram. He was the only North Dakota player to finish in the top 5 of any test performed on the day.
For context — this isn’t your typical bench press test. The NHL Combine doesn’t test for raw reps like the NFL does. Instead prospects lift exactly 50% of their own body weight and perform 3 maximum-velocity reps. Sensors attached to the barbell measure how quickly they can generate force — recorded in watts per kilogram. It measures explosive upper-body power, which directly translates to hockey-specific movements like pushing off defenders, winning board battles and shooting without a traditional windup.
In other words — a 6.9 W/kg score at 3rd overall in a room full of the top prospects in the world is not a small thing. That’s elite explosive power. That’s a defenseman who is going to be physical and hard to move off the puck from the moment he steps into Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Keaton Verhoeff and Carson Carels — both projected top-10 NHL Draft picks — were also at the combine but did not finish in the top 5 of any individual test. That’s not a knock on either of them. Combine testing and hockey ability are two very different things, and both players have proven themselves on the ice at the highest levels. Verhoeff had 20 points in 36 games as a 17-year-old freshman. Carels had 73 points in 58 WHL games. The draft will speak for itself on June 26-27 in Buffalo.
But yesterday belonged to MacKenzie. An incoming freshman who hasn’t even played a game in a UND jersey yet — podiuming at the NHL Combine alongside the best prospects in the world.
Grand Forks is going to be a lot of fun next season. 🟢🖤
#UNDHockey #NHLCombine #FightingHawks #NoDakNoise #CoveringWhatOthersOverlook
