Otto Stenberg is heating up at the right time ahead of the 2023 NHL Draft

Otto Stenberg (Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff)

BASEL, Switzerland – Otto Stenberg has had plenty of reasons to smile over the past few weeks.

He’s spending time in a beautiful country. He’s hanging with his pals on the Swedish national junior team. And now, armed with a chance to set a scoring record with his country, Stenberg and Sweden are set to battle for gold at the men’s U-18 World Hockey Championship against the United States.

Most experts are picking the Americans – the highest-scoring team in the tournament – to win. But the Swedes have easily handled every challenge thrown at them, including beating Canada 7-2 in the semifinal on Saturday. And a big thanks has to go to Stenberg, who scored twice and added three assists for a five-point effort – besting his four-point showing against the same Canadian squad on the opening day.

“This is the best I’ve ever seen him,” a Swedish scout said. “He’s playing with house money.”

Stenberg enters Sunday with 16 points, good for third in tournament scoring and four more than any other non-American (Dalibor Dvorsky has 12 for Slovakia). On Saturday, Stenberg tied William Nylander’s output in 2014 – the most ever by a Swedish defender. This is easily Stenberg’s most impressive international hockey action to date – and he’s doing it in a year that’s been full of success while donning the blue and yellow crowns.

According to Elite Prospects, Stenberg has 32 points in 18 games with the national team this year – 17 more than the next highest-scoring forward, Zeb Forsfjall. It’s not surprising, given his strong play at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup when he had nine points in five games. Last year, he scored 10 points in five U-17 national team games and had a pair of goals with the U-18 squad en route to gold.

When he’s wearing his nation’s colors, Stenberg is dominant.

But it’s the league play that Stenberg started to fall a bit flat. He had just one goal and 23 points with Frolunda’s SHL team and 26 points in 29 games at the U-20 level. The challenges against men were understandable, but he was still less productive than guys like David Edstrom, Anton Wahlberg and Axel Sandin Pellikka, all of whom are on this Swedish U-18 team.

And then in the SHL, 16 players with at least 15 games played had more points than him. Still, he had good numbers for the most part, but there were other U-18 guys that stood out more. So, truly, he was at his best when representing his country.

Stenberg isn’t phased about the low numbers in league play.

“There are bigger players. You’re playing against men,” Stenberg said. “It’s a little bit faster, and a bit heavier, but it’s hockey. I’m just trying to play my game. Playing against my own age group, I can play on the power play and play with the puck a little bit more than in the SHL.”

That’s very true, and his confidence is beaming through. However, Stenberg’s draft stock has fluctuated depending on who you talk to this year. In the SHL, he looks lost at points. Against his age group, the numbers have been strong. So it’s tough to get a good read of what teams might think.

“The talent’s all there,” a scout said. “But it’s about being more consistent against tougher competition. He’s capable of it, but you really notice when he’s off his game.”

With points in every single game in Switzerland, consistency hasn’t been an issue. Compared to a year ago, his defensive game has also improved quite a bit.

“He’s willing to get physical and move guys away from the net,” another scout said. “He can play center and the wing and does a good job of helping his teammates back in the defensive zone. He was missing that last year.”

Stenberg, like many Swedes, loved watching clips of Peter Forsberg growing up. He also enjoys watching Matt Duchene, a name players don’t typically compare themselves to all that often. But there are some similarities, mostly in the defensive responsibility department.

“(Duchene is) good in both ends of the rink and strong on the puck,” Stenberg said. “I like to play like that.”

Stenberg’s offensive game is built around being dynamic. He’s patient with the puck, a smart distributor and puts some decent power behind his shot. Stenberg can be very shifty and tough to read as a defender. At this point, it’s about being a better finisher, which hasn’t been an issue at the U-18s.

Many scouts see Stenberg as a first-round pick. He fell in the most recent Daily Faceoff rankings, but this tournament is definitely helping his case. Stenberg just looks happy and confident again, something that wasn’t always the case when watching him with Frolunda. The real hot-and-cold nature of his game didn’t help, but he’s scorching hot right now. And the Swedes really need that against an American team that looks to be one of the most dominant we’ve ever seen at this tournament.

But Stenberg is ready. He won gold a year ago, and knows this team has some special qualities to them. Win or lose, Stenberg has done so much to help his own game, and he hopes that momentum carries into 2023-24. The talent is there, and it’s all about putting it together consistently.

A big performance in the championship game just two months before the draft would be an excellent start.

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Otto Stenberg is heating up at the right time ahead of the 2023 NHL Draft

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