Stenberg will have the magnifying glass on him it he's selected and it seems to me like there's higher risk that McKenna having better upside could come to bite them in the ass. Then you'll have people ragging on Sundin for potentially picking the Swede over the homegrown kid. The pressure aspect to me is irrelevant - there will be pressure for either to jump in and learn on the fly. It's no picnic either way if one of them ends up having the clearly better career.
NHL Draft 2026
- Thread starter herman
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herman
Well-known member
Yeah that's very fair. It's tough on the players that are perceived as reaches.
I like that he tried to do the Auston Matthews thing and challenge himself for his draft year. His first half was rough, and WJC while very productive (14 pts in 7 GP) was not really his best showing, he really turned it up on the back half of his season.
Game by Game stats
dappleganger
Well-known member
Most 17-year-olds are still in high school, moving to college hockey was a big jump. Ultimately, I think the move to NCAA skewed his profile a little bit, there was definitely an adjustment period for him. Go look at his last year in the WHL, I think that's all you need to know.
dappleganger
Well-known member
I think the whole McKenna/Stenberg debate is media driven. They need the clicks. If everyone said McKenna is the clear number 1 no one would be talking about the prospects/draft. They are stirring the pot.
Guru Tugginmypuddah
Well-known member
Draft Shmaft.
herman
Well-known member
Also laser focus on long-apparent number 1 picks means lots of time to study the warts, so this sort of thing happens every year other than McDavid's/Crosby's.
For me, it was more about the Leafs actual roster situation, and looking to retool on the fly with Matthews expiring and potentially moving on.
McKenna's development would be well served with one more NCAA season (physical bulk, off and on-ice habits), and it sounds like he was thinking the same thing too if he was picked by Vancouver or Calgary or some other moribund outfit. But the Leafs taking 1st overall changes the equation significantly, even though playmaking LW might be the lowest priority position of need (top pair D, top 6 C).
Stenberg is already playing pro hockey as an 18 year old, and plays a similar niche as McKenna, but done in a more team-centric way.
herman
Well-known member
Lore-wise, this was also the game shortly after it was publicized that he was arrested for an altercation outside a bar, and he drops this celly
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L K
Well-known member
I feel like the debate stuff is just silly at this point.
McKenna had 14 points in 7 games at the World Juniors.
He had 51 points in 35 games in his College season (9 more than the next closest scorer who was 4 years older than him)
He put up 129 points in 56 games in his second WHL season and 38 points in 16 playoff games. He was 16.
I'm not going to call McKenna the next McDavid or anything...but he's putting up silly numbers.. There should be no debate here unless a team offers up a stupid package to drop down a spot or two where you are getting multiple NHL ready young pieces plus still drafting a really good defensemen. Noone is giving up a Lindros style package though.
McKenna had 14 points in 7 games at the World Juniors.
He had 51 points in 35 games in his College season (9 more than the next closest scorer who was 4 years older than him)
He put up 129 points in 56 games in his second WHL season and 38 points in 16 playoff games. He was 16.
I'm not going to call McKenna the next McDavid or anything...but he's putting up silly numbers.. There should be no debate here unless a team offers up a stupid package to drop down a spot or two where you are getting multiple NHL ready young pieces plus still drafting a really good defensemen. Noone is giving up a Lindros style package though.