How Teddy Stiga went from projected seventh-round pick to a potential first-rounder in 2024

Steven Ellis
Steven Ellis
How Teddy Stiga went from projected seventh-round pick to a potential first-rounder in 2024
Credit: Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff

What’s one of the main things coaches and scouts look for in a player?

Hard work. And on the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, finding someone who works as hard as winger Teddy Stiga is difficult.

Scouts refer to Stiga as one of the draft’s top buzzsaws, someone who’s going to bring the effort every night and whose effort will never waver. At 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds, he has to find other ways to stay effective because he won’t be able to outmuscle his way through the game.

As a rookie with the U-17 team last year, Stiga struggled with just 12 goals and 21 points in 49 games – putting him 14th in team scoring. He missed the end of the 2022-23 season with an injury, but he considered it a blessing in disguise thanks to some added time in the weight room.

USA Hockey listed Stiga at 5-foot-9 and 155 pounds last season, so his step up to 5-foot-11 and 175 is a big step up for someone many scouts viewed as being too physically weak.

“I got hurt at the end of the year so I focused on just getting stronger,” Stiga said. “I gained about 15 pounds over the summer, shooting a lot and dialing in a few things. Just becoming more confident.”

The Teddy Stiga we see today is a totally new player. He’s stronger, faster and shooting better, too – and the results are showing. In almost every facet of the game, Stiga is one of the most improved prospects in this draft class – and a big reason why scouts always need to have an open mind.

It doesn’t seem to matter who Stiga plays with on the USNTDP because he makes it work with just about anyone in any specific scenario. The question heading into the season was seeing who on the USNTDP would step up beyond Cole Eiserman and James Hagens. Many players swapped places throughout the season, but Stiga is entering the U-18 World Championship in Finland later this month sitting third in team scoring with 29 goals and 65 points.

“Whether it be with Hagens or (Kamil) Bednarik or whomever, Stiga seemed to always make things happen,” a scout said. “He’s creative, he works as hard as anyone, he gets to the dirty areas. They can just throw him in anywhere and he’ll contribute somehow.”

Stiga especially turned heads at the U-18 Five Nations tournament in Plymouth in February, leading all players with nine points in just four games. That includes a four-point effort against Switzerland, tying his best output of the season with his three-goal, one-assist showing against Green Bay in September.

It was just a snapshot of a longer season, but it was one of the highest-attended scouting events of the season, and Stiga looked his best at the right time. And in recent weeks, more and more people in the scouting community have considered Stiga to be a first-round talent after he originally received a “W” ranking on NHL Central Scouting’s initial watch list – handed out to players viewed to be sixth- or seventh-rounders.

“You can’t teach a kid to fight for pucks like he does, challenge guys like he does,” a scout said. “That’s a personality thing. You need to want that puck more than anyone else and that’s what he does better than most. He takes risks, learns form them and uses it to get better.”

Versatile players will always find work in the NHL. Stiga might not be a big-time producer in the big leagues, but he’s works so hard, plays strong defensively, has a great hockey IQ and can play the power play and penalty kill. For a smaller player, Stiga doesn’t lack confidence or drive out there because he knows what he does well, what he needs to do better, and how to utilize all of that to his advantage.

“He’s a coach’s dream,” another scout said. “He plays a 200-foot game, can play anywhere you ask him to go, and he doesn’t disappoint. He finds ways to be effective away from the puck, especially as a chaser or in his own zone. Every team needs a Teddy Stiga.”

Stiga won’t have to wait long to hear his name called in Vegas in June at the NHL Draft. Many still think he’s a second-rounder, but the fact he has come such a long way this season makes him so intriguing. He’s got real middle-six potential, with the ability to be an energetic difference-maker with a track record of playing with quality linemates, such as Hagens – the top prospect for 2025.

As for whom he models his game after?

“I like to model my game after Brad Marchand,” Stiga said. “He’s a little more tenacious than me, but I like the way he plays. He’s gritty, he plays with skill.”

Stiga is set to join Boston College next year, a team that is expected to see some significant turnover with the potential for Cutter Gauthier, Will Smith, Gabe Perreault and Ryan Leonard to all turn pro. Still, the team should remain a contender regardless, with Stiga ultimately being one of the team’s biggest recruits. The Sudbury, Massachusetts native has the opportunity to continue focusing in the weight room and adding more mass over the next few years, which he’ll need to help him adjust to the rough and tumble nature of college hockey.

Few prospects have risen like Stiga has. Thinking long-term, that’s exciting, because there might still be some untapped potential lingering around.

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