One of the more intriguing young prospects in the Blues' system is Swedish forward Otto Stenberg. Stenberg just finished up his age-19/20 season (he has a March, mid-season birthday) playing in several different levels of competition. Let's take a look at his performance:
Struggles in the SHL
Stenberg played 25 games in the Swedish Hockey League (or SHL), but only put up 6 points (3G 3A). While on paper, these numbers may seem drastically bad, they do not tell the full story.
The SHL is a professional men's league, and veterans or seniority are greatly valued. As a 19-year-old, Stenberg was barely getting deployed and did not receive significant ice time when he did hit the ice. On top of this, he was playing against grown men, some twice his age, meaning the league was probably not a fit for the young skater to develop his skills.
Doug Armstrong and Alex Steen identified this, and after 25 games, moved him to the AHL, where he could play against his peers and receive more consistent ice time.
Ascending to the AHL
In the AHL, Stenberg registered 17 points (5G 12A) in 38 regular-season games, a much more respectable number.
Stenberg was one of the younger players on Springfield's roster this season and still managed to put up a decent rate of production. His goal-scoring dropped off a little, but on a Springfield team that had no shortage of true goal-scoring threats, Stenberg learned how to fit his situation and become more of a playmaker on the wing.
Stenberg did go pointless in their three playoff games, but did have some nice plays and passes that didn't end up getting converted.
The AHL was definitely the right place for Stenberg to be, and next year on a Springfield team with decently high expectations, he will really earn the chance to make his name stand out as one of the ascending stars in his league and eventually in the NHL.
Fighting for team Sweden
Whereas his deployment was inconsistent in minor-league affiliates, Stenberg's contributions for Team Sweden in international play cannot be overlooked.
In the J20 World Juniors, Stenberg notched 8 points (3G, 5A) in 7 games, and in the IIHF Hockey World Championships, he tallied 21 points (5G, 16A) in 18 games.
Stenberg scored over a point per game playing against the best competition worldwide in his age bracket and proved his ability as an offensive threat. He also demonstrated how far along in his development he has already come, leaning more into that playmaking/assist role.
Stenberg came out of the draft as a goal scorer, but over the past couple years we have seen him blossom into more of a well-rounded skater with a full offensive toolkit. Stenberg plays similar and has had (so far) a similar trajectory to the man who drafted him, fellow Swede Alex Steen.
Otto Stenberg was drafted as a prospect with decent upside but a relatively low floor, but it seems like his floor is continually rising the more he passes through the ranks of the Blues' prospect system.
For more thoughts on Stenberg and other Blues prospects, check out the latest episode of my podcast, the Note News podcast:
If Otto Stenberg can live up to the shadow of the man who drafted him, having the second coming of Alex Steen at the tail-end of the first round would be a huge win for Doug Armstrong and the Blues.