Stenberg was picked only behind fellow left-wing Gavin McKenna, who was selected first by the Toronto Maple Leafs. It is the earliest a Swedish player has been taken in the NHL Draft since Leo Carlsson was selected second by the Anaheim Ducks in 2023.
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Not turning 19 years old until September, Stenberg amassed 33 points in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) last season for Frolunda, one of the league's best performances by a teenager, as he and the Gothenburg club also lifted the Champions Hockey League (CHL) title.
Swedish flags would be waving again before the top 10 players were selected - taken eighth overall by the Winnipeg Jets was centre Viggo Bjorck, capping off a brilliant 2025/26 season for the Djurgarden player, who notched 18 points in his debut SHL season before becoming the youngest Swedish player ever to feature at the World Ice Hockey Championships last month.
But you don't need SHL and international experience to get noticed by the NHL, as Alexander Command proved when he was selected 12th by the New Jersey Devils, having never made a senior appearance for Orebro.
HV 71 defenceman Malte Gustafsson was then the very next pick by the New York Islanders, before Elton Hermansson of HockeyAllsvenskan side MoDo was taken 19th by the Los Angeles Kings. Leksands junior player Jonas Lagerber Hoen was selected 25th by the Ottawa Senators and then another Djurgarden skater, Marcus Nordmark, was the Anaheim Ducks' first-round pick, 28th overall.
The NHL Draft continues on 27th June, follow it with Flashscore's tracker.