Ivar Stenberg, the No. 1 internationally ranked prospect on the NHL Central Scouting rankings of non-North American skaters, did not participate in fitness testing at the NHL Scouting Combine. First reported by Mark Masters of TSN, the 18-year-old Swede said if he was not feeling sick, he would’ve participated in the testing. He came down with this after the IIHF World Championships, where he scored at a point-per-game, registering four goals for eight points in eight games in his final stint of hockey ahead of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
Stenberg interviewed with 14 different teams at the Combine, notably coming off a campaign with Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League, where he scored 33 points in 43 games. He had the fifth-best season by a player age 18 or younger in Swedish Hockey League history, behind Daniel Sedin (42 pts in 1998-99), Markus Naslund (39 pts in 1991-92), Tomas Sandstrom (37 pts in 1982-83), and Henrik Sedin (34 pts in 1998-99).
Additional Combine Notes:
- Stenberg is one of six top prospects set to attend Game 4 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final, where the Vegas Golden Knights will host the Carolina Hurricanes, leading 2-1 in the series. The Swedish standout will be joined by defenseman Chase Reid (No. 2 on Central Scouting’s ranking of North Americans) of Sault Ste. Marie in the OHL, defenseman Carson Carels (No. 3) of Prince George in the WHL, defenseman Keaton Verhoeff (No. 4) from the University of North Dakota (NCAA), center Caleb Malhotra (No. 6) of Brantford in the OHL, and defenseman Alberts Smits of Munchen in Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The Latvian is No. 2 to Stenberg on NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking of International skaters.
- According to Mike G. Morreale on NHL.com, There were eight NCAA hockey players at this year’s NHL combine. The CHL to College Hockey pipeline into National Hockey League prospect pools is only set to grow from here. Since May 1, 73 players have committed to NCAA programs, and nearly 60% have come from the CHL. Going back to the turn of the calendar year, 272 total commitments have been made, nearly half, 132 to be exact, from Canadian major junior hockey (QMJHL, OHL, WHL).
