Stian Solberg participating in a 1v1 battle drill without a stick at Ducks Development Camp Because they are no longer in the top division of the World Junior Championship, Norway will not be competing for gold in Ottawa next month. Instead, they’ll be in Slovenia competing for gold there in the Division I, Group A U20 World Championship. Stian Solberg, who was selected by the Ducks with the 23rd overall pick in the most recent NHL draft, was named to Norway’s roster [https://www.hockey.no/globalassets/uttak-precamp-u20-vm-bled-desember-24.pdf]. He was a key contributor for Norway’s World Juniors and World Championships teams, a big reason why he rose on many teams’ draft boards. Solberg is currently playing in the SHL for Färjestad BK, although Swedish news outlets have speculated about a potential loan to the Hockeyallsvenskan for the defenseman. It appears that Färjestad have Solberg on development plan similar to the one that Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek implemented with Leo Carlsson last season. Solberg has been a healthy scratch in five of Färjestad’s 21 games thus far. “There are things we need to help him develop and he needs to drive his own development, which he does very well,” Färjestad head coach Tomas Mitell said in an interview with Hockey News SE [https://hockeynews.se/nyheter/fbk-backen-far-inte-spela-forward-tillbaka] (translated from Swedish). Solberg has appeared in all eight of Färejstad’s Champions Hockey League games thus far, collecting three points (one goal, two assists). He’s also shown off his trademark physicality during his first season in the SHL. This season is Solberg’s first playing in a non-Norwegian league, so the adjustment period is understandable. As a young player, his body is still growing and his development path has plenty of runway. With how Verbeek managed Carlsson last season and how the Sharks have similarly managed Will Smith this season, development plans like this may become more common in the future.
