Toronto holds the first overall pick. But is everyone sleeping on Ivar Stenberg?
Everyone assumes it’s Gavin McKenna to Toronto. It feels inevitable. The narrative is set. But narratives can be dangerous.
The Athletic polled six draft evaluators. Three of them didn’t have Gavin McKenna at number one on their personal list. Three of six. And yet every single one still projects Toronto to take him — because it would be “too controversial” not to.
That’s not scouting. That’s politics.
So let’s talk about what Ivar Stenberg has actually been doing.
The 18-year-old Swede put up 33 points in 43 games in the SHL this season. As a draft-eligible teenager. Against men. His numbers rank among the best ever recorded by a prospect his age in that league — better than Nicklas Backstrom, better than Leo Carlsson, better than William Eklund.
Then he went to the World Juniors and finished fifth in scoring with 10 points in 7 games.
And now, at the World Championship, playing for Sweden’s senior national team, he just scored one of the most breathtaking goals of the entire tournament. A solo effort against Slovakia — he faked a defenceman completely off his skates and picked the top corner off the crossbar.
After the goal, the cameras panned to the crowd.
There was Mats Sundin. Sitting in the stands. Watching.
Toronto’s senior executive of hockey operations — one of the greatest Swedish players who ever lived — was right there in the building. TSN’s Mike Johnson ran into him afterward and reported the encounter on OverDrive. Sundin told Sportbladet that Stenberg is “a unique talent.” Peter Forsberg, also watching, called him “fantastic” and said what he’s doing now is “at another level.”
Is Gavin McKenna the right pick?
Toronto defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Stenberg’s teammate on Team Sweden, was asked if he’d lobby management to pick Stenberg. He laughed and said he wasn’t sure that’s how it works.
But the question is being asked. In Sweden and now everywhere else.
Is Gavin McKenna still the right pick? Maybe. The fit alongside Auston Matthews is real and the talent is undeniable.
But the most powerful voice in the Toronto front office just watched Ivar Stenberg score one of the goals of the tournament — live, in person — and called him a unique talent.
That’s worth paying attention to.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Gavin McKenna
