how fast can connor mcdavid skate

Connor McDavid has been tracked at about 25 mph (around 40–41 km/h) in game situations, with newer tracking data showing a top speed of 24.61 mph (39.6 km/h) in the NHL EDGE era. That’s roughly comparable to elite Olympic- level speed skaters and only a bit slower than Usain Bolt’s peak sprinting speed in shoes.

Quick Scoop

• In-game tracking has clocked McDavid at about 40.9 km/h (25.4 mph) on a rush while handling the puck.

• NHL EDGE tracking (puck and player tracking introduced league‑wide) lists his top recorded speed as 24.61 mph in the 2025–26 season opener, surpassing his previous high of 24.19 mph.

• Fans and analysts often point out that he reaches these speeds with full gear on and while controlling the puck , which is what makes him look almost unfair on the ice.

How fast is that really?

• Compared to sprinters: One Reddit discussion notes that Usain Bolt’s peak is around 45 km/h , so McDavid’s ~41 km/h in gear is remarkably close given he is on skates and handling a puck.

• Compared to speed skaters: World-class long-track skaters can average in the low‑40 km/h range over long distances and exceed 50 km/h in 500 m records, so McDavid’s top bursts are in that same general neighborhood, but over much shorter distances and in a game environment.

• Within the NHL: NHL EDGE data for 2025–26 explicitly spotlights McDavid at 24.61 mph as the highest top skating speed in the tracking era, plus he leads the league in repeated bursts over 22 mph.

Fastest Skater events

• McDavid has repeatedly won the NHL All‑Star Fastest Skater competition, including a famous lap in 13.378 seconds at the 2019 event in San Jose.

• Those laps don’t list a clean km/h number in official summaries, but they visually underline that he sustains his top-end speed longer than most, not just in a single short burst.

Why he looks so insanely quick

A 2025 mechanics breakdown highlights three key reasons his skating speed looks almost unreal even among pros.

• Extreme forward lean: He keeps his center of mass slightly ahead of his skate contact point, using gravity to “pull” him forward and helping him accelerate without looking like he’s straining.

• Elastic power (stretch–shortening): His legs load and unload like springs, combining passive stretch with active push so every stride gives more speed with less visible effort.

• Heel‑driven stride: Instead of pushing hard off the toe with a wide stride, he drives more through his heel, keeping a narrower, looser stride that lets him change direction without losing speed.

Put simply: McDavid can hit around 25 mph in full gear, in traffic, with the puck on his stick , which is why he so often looks like he’s in a different speed tier than everyone else on the ice.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.