'I Didn’t Have Good Meetings With Toronto': Sharks' Ivar Stenberg Didn't Feel Interest From Maple Leafs In NHL Draft Meetings

The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to take on the San Jose Sharks on Monday for the first meeting between the two teams this season. It'll also be the first time that Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg will face each other in the NHL since they were drafted first and second overall in the 2026 draft, respectively.

With the two teams seeing each other at Scotiabank Arena on Monday night, the discussion of that 2026 draft is only natural, and Stenberg was asked about what his meetings were like with the Maple Leafs and the process of potentially being selected first overall instead of McKenna.

"I was pretty sure I would not go first overall," Stenberg told Curtis Pashelka of Bay Area News Group. "I didn’t have good meetings with Toronto and didn’t feel like it was the team for me."

McKenna was the projected first overall pick of the 2026 draft, and that remained true through the official selection by the Leafs. But regardless, Stenberg felt that he didn't have a chance at being taken by Toronto back in June.

"I had met with (the Maple Leafs) during the year, but I don’t know," Stenberg said. "They wanted another guy, and I accept that. But I’m super happy I’m with the Sharks.

"You kind of feel when a team wants you or not, or how interested they are," Stenberg said. "You get a feeling, and I think that feeling was pretty (accurate)," the Sharks rookie added.

So far in Stenberg's rookie season, the 19-year-old has scored two goals and six points in eight games and averaged 15:51 of ice time per game. He's coming off a two-point performance against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, which saw him score his second goal of the year.

In comparison, McKenna has two goals and five points in the first nine games of his young NHL career, logging 14:23 of ice time per game. In the last two games, the 18-year-old hasn't gotten on the scoresheet, but had just come off a four-game point streak prior to that.

Playing in different conferences and on opposite sides of the continent, McKenna and Stenberg won't get to see each other often with their current teams. But San Jose's rookie recalls meeting Toronto's rookie multiple times before the season.

"I met him at the combine and at the draft," Stenberg said of McKenna. "He’s a good guy, really good on the ice, too."

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