Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg finished their NHL draft campaigns in impressive fashion. They reflected on the campaign that was and discussed where they may end up as the Maple Leafs hold the No. 1 pick.
BUFFALO - There have been a few NHL drafts over the last decade where the top pick was not etched in stone.
In 2017, prior to the scouting combine, the consensus top pick was Brandon Wheat Kings center Nolan Patrick, but when they stepped to the podium in Chicago in late June, the New Jersey Devils selected their current captain, Nico Hischier, first overall, and Patrick was selected by Philadelphia.
Five years later, the presumptive top pick was the Kingston Frontenacs' Shane Wright, but the Montreal Canadiens stunned the crowd in their own barn by choosing big Slovak left winger Juraj Slafkovsky first overall. Slafkovsky established himself as a power forward this season, scoring 30 goals for the first time. Wright slipped to fourth overall and was selected by Seattle, and he's rumored to be on the trading block this summer.
This year, the chatter of who will go first has centered around a pair of dynamic young wingers in Penn State's Gavin McKenna and Frolunda's Ivar Stenberg.
Both players were among the top prospects speaking at the NHL draft combine in Buffalo on Friday.
Overlapping with the Stanley Cup final, the annual NHL scouting combine marks the first significant event of the upcoming season, with representatives of all 32 clubs interviewing nearly 90 prospects from Canada, Europe and the United States for the upcoming draft at KeyBank Center later this month.
McKenna was the clubhouse favorite to go first overall since last year, when he scored 129 points with Medicine Hat and 38 points in 16 playoff games on the Tigers' run to the Memorial Cup final.
McKenna's stock took a temporary hit by his decision to head to the NCAA. After struggling in the first half with the Penn State Nittany Lions, the Whitehorse, Yukon, native righted himself and finished with 51 points against bigger, stronger players. That may benefit McKenna when he makes the jump to the NHL next season, instead of dominating the WHL another year.
"It was a good season," McKenna said. "In college, the guys are bigger, stronger and faster. The game itself is just a little different than junior. It's more straightforward hockey.
"I found out early on that things weren't just going to happen easy. Once I got to world juniors, I kind of got my confidence back and kind of figured out the game a little bit more, and started working harder off the ice and on the ice, and getting in the dirty areas a little bit more, and I think that's why I started producing more."
Stenberg's stock has risen this season with a 33-point campaign for Frolunda in the Swedish League and an impressive performance internationally for Sweden in their championship run at the world juniors.
At the World Championship in Switzerland last month, Stenberg scored at a point-per-game pace against veteran competition. He said he felt pretty good about his game.
"Some games were good," the Swede said. "Yeah, like, happy with some games, and it was sad because we didn't end up with the gold, but it was a fun experience," Stenberg said.
Stenberg was asked where he hopes to play next season and whether he hopes to make the move overseas and play in North America.
"I want to play over here, and play the best league in the world," Stenberg said.
Speculation regarding who the Toronto Maple Leafs will select first overall is similar to the chatter 10 years ago, when there was debate after a strong seven-goal performance at the World Championships that the Leafs could take Patrik Laine over Auston Matthews. That chatter proved to be baseless, as Toronto chose the Arizona native with the top pick.
Despite his late charge, the conventional wisdom is that McKenna will be selected by the Leafs and that Stenberg could slip as far as fourth if the San Jose Sharks choose a defenseman and the Vancouver Canucks pick Caleb Malhotra, the son of new coach Manny Malhotra.
"It would be an honor. As a kid, that's what you dream of," McKenna said. "Being a Canadian kid, going to a Canadian market would be pretty special. The situation the Leafs are in right now, it's pretty crazy that they got the first overall pick. Their team was probably going be fighting for the playoffs next year, so I'd be pretty fortunate to go there."
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