It may not have been perfect, but Otto Stenberg had a perfectly adequate rookie season with the St. Louis Blues. The 25th-overall pick of the 2023 draft, Stenberg failed to break camp with the Blues at the start of the season and played with the Springfield Thunderbirds in the AHL for a couple of months. He was called up in mid-December and debuted on December 17 in a 1-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets. Stenberg stayed with the Blues for the majority of the rest of the season, suiting up for 32 games in the process.
Expectations for 2025-26
Stenberg had an outside shot of making the Blues out of training camp, but he would've had to blow the doors off; the Blues' depth at forward made it hard for any prospect to crack the opening night lineup. Given his production in the AHL (34 points across parts of two seasons with the Thunderbirds), an offensive burst wasn't part of expectations. When the call came to join the Blues in December, Stenberg--at the very least--held his own.
Grade: C+
Over 32 games, Stenberg tallied three goals, seven assists, and 10 total points while averaging 13:37 a night. His underlying stats weren't great (a 46.37 xGF%, per Natural Stat Trick), but that's kind of what you get with a rookie forward playing bottom-six minutes. Stenberg gets a passing grade for the season because he didn't flop, but he didn't pop, either.
Where does he go from here?
It's always going to be difficult for an undersized forward like Stenberg--who's 5-foot-11--to make it in the NHL full time. Add in the crowded depth chart the Blues have at forward, and his long term outlook is murky. At 21 years old, there's plenty of developmental runway ahead, and he'll likely be on the opening night roster for 2026-27, but he's going to have show some of the more traits that made him a 1st-round pick if he wants to stay in St. Louis for a long time.
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