Since coming to San Jose to helm the Sharks, General Manager Mike Grier has never wavered from his promise of drafting the best player available (BPA). He\u2019s always said that he will draft the BPA and no matter what the noise around him is, he\u2019s stuck to that promise. It happened last season when the Sharks selected Michael Misa despite having a need for a defenseman and even more so when, with the 30th overall pick, the team selected goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen because he was next up on the team\u2019s internal list of best players available.<\/p>\n
Which brings us to this year\u2019s draft, where Grier has again said that he will draft the BPA, and if that\u2019s the case, most people are saying that if the Toronto Maple Leafs take Gavin McKenna as expected, then the BPA at number two will be Ivar Stenberg from Sweden.<\/p>\n
Ivar Stenberg, F \u2013 Fr\u00f6lunda HC (SHL)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Height: 6-foot-0
Weight: 181 pounds
Age\/DOB: 18, Sept. 30, 2007
Shoots: Left
Fr\u00f6lunda HC (SHL): 43 games, 33 points (11 G, 22 A)
Sweden U20 World Junior Championship: 7 games, 10 points (4 G, 6 A)
Sweden World Championship: 8 games, 8 points (4 G, 4 A)<\/p>\n
Stenberg is one of the more impressive prospects on the list because he played last season among men and held his own. The 18-year-old played 43 games in Sweden\u2019s top league, the SHL, and scored 33 points, including 11 goals. It was enough to earn him Rookie of the Year honors, beating out fellow top prospect in this draft, Viggo Bj\u00f6rck, and top Chicago Blackhawks\u2019 prospect Anton Frondell.<\/p>\n
Stenberg then moved up to Sweden\u2019s national team in the spring, where he played at a point per game pace at the World Championship. Again, he showed his ability to compete against men and hold his own.<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s not a huge deal, the one thing to keep an eye on is his age. Stenberg is slightly older than some of the other players in this draft. He will turn 19 on Sept. 30. That means he\u2019s a bit more developed than some of the others. For comparison, Macklin Celebrini was 18 years and 15 days when he was drafted, and Michael Misa was 18 years and 131 days old. Stenberg will be 18 years and 269 days old on draft day. Some people care about that stuff.<\/p>\n
The case against Stenberg<\/p>\n
The fact that he\u2019s close to overage is only a slight strike against him. Some might believe there\u2019s less room for exponential growth than a younger player might have. That said, players grow at different paces, and so it may not be a downside at all.<\/p>\n
In terms of physical downsides, there have been critiques of his ability to skate. It\u2019s been described as \u201caverage\u201d by some. His size, 6\u20190\u2033, also isn\u2019t overwhelming, especially when you take into account that he\u2019s almost a year older than some of the other players in the draft, but it\u2019s not a huge issue.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the biggest argument against the forward has nothing to do with his play at all, but his position. The Sharks are overflowing with forwards and blindly grasping at straws for defensemen. With the likes of Chase Reid, Carson Carels, Keaton Verhoeff and Alberts Smits available, it\u2019s very, very tempting to skip over Stenberg and choose a defenseman instead.<\/p>\n
The case for Stenberg<\/p>\n
Stenberg is a game-breaking winger and the Sharks don\u2019t have one of those in the fold just yet. He\u2019s projected to be better than Quentin Musty, who would be considered the best winger in the Sharks\u2019 prospect pool at the moment. What\u2019s more, he has a higher upside than William Eklund. Scouts believe that Stenberg will be a consistent 80-90 point player in the NHL and that\u2019s without factoring in playing him alongside Celebrini, which would likely give any player a boost.<\/p>\n
Like the other forwards that Grier has gathered so far, Stenberg is considered a smart hockey player and is credited with his two-way play. He thinks the game at a high level and protects the puck well. He would, as a whole, be an excellent complement to Celebrini\u2019s wing and could create one of the best lines in the NHL with Celebrini and Will Smith.<\/p>\n
And while it might be petty, there\u2019s the added bonus that taking Stenberg would frustrate the heck out of the teams below San Jose on the draft board, specifically the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers. Both teams\u2019 fans have been trying to pawn off their players in lopsided trades to get the second-overall pick and snag Stenberg for themselves. Hearing Stenberg\u2019s name called and seeing the social media meltdown would be a bit of fun.<\/p>\n
What the scouts say about Stenberg<\/p>\n
Sportsnet\u2019s Jason Bukala has Stenberg as his number one overall prospect. While Bukala believes McKenna will ultimately score more than Stenberg, when it comes to complete players, he says Stenberg is the better of the two.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still have Stenberg No. 1 overall because I am very comfortable with his overall game. I trust him defensively and value his offensive upside. In time, I believe he has the potential to produce in the 80-95 point range in the NHL,\u201d wrote Bukala on May 27<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Athletic\u2019s Corey Pronman considers Stenberg a future top-of-the-lineup player in the NHL.<\/p>\n