2026 IIHF World Junior Discussion

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Goriders

It’s more than 2 exhibition games. It’s the first couple of months on the Flames, last years traing camp and the young stars tourney.

He’s an awesome offence generator. As in there’s no one else like him in the organization. Flip side to that is he’s the worst defender in the organization and he’s probably the physically weakest as well.

Your not going to get the benifit of his strengths if they don’t help him get bigger and stronger (which will happen over time) and get his defensive capabilities to an acceptable level. That’s probably the trickier one.

Except in his limited time with the Flames he’s actually been very effective.

He made the same types of mistakes every rookie player makes so if you’re pretending it’s actually based on this season then your argument doesn’t actually hold up.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

To the first bold, I am always leery of picking someone that is dominating because they are more physically mature - once they're men, that advantage is gone, and I want the one that is more talented.

To the 2nd bold, he is more like Patrick Kane.

I feel the same way - cautiously, as there are plenty of underdeveloped stars in junior that never amount to much (see Shinkaruk, for instance). But yes, I also generally see it the same way as you - underdeveloped stars simply have more 'room to grow'.


Kane is the comp a lot of people throw around. I was thinking it from a Flames' perspective. Maybe Loob I guess. Makarov might actually be the closest. I am betting that only a small percentage of posters here actually remember those players, so Tanguay - maybe Huselius - are the closest comps in style.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

To the first bold, I am always leery of picking someone that is dominating because they are more physically mature - once they're men, that advantage is gone, and I want the one that is more talented.

Stenberg is already playing against men in the SHL. He’s 12th in scoring in that league. The second youngest player in the top 20 is 26 years old.

[Enoch Root]

Makarov, yeah that's probably the best Flame comp

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

Stenberg is already playing against men in the SHL. He’s 12th in scoring in that league. The second youngest player in the top 20 is 26 years old.

Yes, I think everyone knows that.

What is being discussed is that Stenberg is more physically developed, allowing him to compete against older players, while McKenna hasn't. But eventually, McKenna will be a man too. And once they are both men, I want the one that's more talented. And IMO, that's McKenna.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Yes, I think everyone knows that.

What is being discussed is that Stenberg is more physically developed, allowing him to compete against older players, while McKenna hasn't. But eventually, McKenna will be a man too. And once they are both men, I want the one that's more talented. And IMO, that's McKenna.

I remember when Puljujarvi was the "most NHL ready" compared to Matthews and Laine because he was a bigger body.

[Royle9]

I fully beleive the oilers ruined JP.
I remember watching his dominant play in JR and then at the WJHC’s that year and he looked like a man amongst boys.

I was hoping somehow the Flames could get him.
That went downhill real fast.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I remember when Puljujarvi was the "most NHL ready" compared to Matthews and Laine because he was a bigger body.

Yeah, it's probably the single worst variable to base a decision on. In fact, I look at it as a negative.

[Savvy27]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

The way people are dismissing Parekh here, after two exhibition games that are the first games he's played in weeks, is just laughable.

I'll say it again: Canadian fans are WAY too impatient. And way too critical.

Quinn Hughes was just as bad defensively, and just as soft and seemingly lackadaisical. He figured it out. Parekh will too. And he'll get stronger.

My expectations for the way people here look at our own top prospects are pretty low. The constant denigration of Wolf while he was winning MVPs and goalie of the year awards ridiculous. I suspect it will be even worse with Parekh.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Yes, I think everyone knows that.

What is being discussed is that Stenberg is more physically developed, allowing him to compete against older players, while McKenna hasn't. But eventually, McKenna will be a man too. And once they are both men, I want the one that's more talented. And IMO, that's McKenna.

The point is that Stenberg isn’t getting some unfair advantage by being more physically mature than his opponents, which is what your post suggested.

All McKenna’s talent won’t help him unless he’s willing to put in the work to develop it, and it remains to be seen if he will. The rest of this season will be a huge tell for his future development.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

The point is that Stenberg isn’t getting some unfair advantage by being more physically mature than his opponents, which is what your post suggested.

All McKenna’s talent won’t help him unless he’s willing to put in the work to develop it, and it remains to be seen if he will. The rest of this season will be a huge tell for his future development.

No one suggested it is an unfair advantage. The point is that it is an advantage that won't be there anymore, once they are both fully developed.

[PepsiFree]

I don’t see how Stenberg has a physical advantage over McKenna when you account for competition.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

No one suggested it is an unfair advantage. The point is that it is an advantage that won't be there anymore, once they are both fully developed.

But it isn’t an advantage over his opponents at all. They are all grown men. It’s extremely rare for a player eligible for the NHL draft to be a star already in the SHL.

If you want to make a case that McKenna is at a disadvantage playing against college men with his undeveloped build, I agree with you. That, however, is not the same thing. We don’t know what the full-grown McKenna will look like. Maybe he’ll always be slight for a hockey player. Stenberg is extremely unlikely to shrink.

[Psytic]

He’s dominating men with his hulking 180lb 6 ft frame…this isn’t Roobroeck we are talking about here. He’s a pretty averaged sized guy dominating the 3rd best league in the world that's made up of full grown men….

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Royle9

I fully beleive the oilers ruined JP.
I remember watching his dominant play in JR and then at the WJHC’s that year and he looked like a man amongst boys.

I was hoping somehow the Flames could get him.
That went downhill real fast.

I think they did. he was a 19 year old with pretty much no English and they didn't accomodate him at all.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I think they did. he was a 19 year old with pretty much no English and they didn't accomodate him at all.

They assumed he knew English and the reason they couldn’t understand him was because his tongue was up his nose or he had a mouthful of pizza.

[Groot]

Looked it up quickly, in the 2024-2025 season in the SHL, the average team height was either 6"0 or 6"1, and the average weight was between 183 lbs and 192 lbs. So Stenberg would be on the smaller to average side when it comes to size.

[Teroy]

Looking forward to watching all the top guys playing in the W Juniors. Haven't been impressed what I've seen of McKenna so far. Unless he shows up, I doubt he'll be drafted #1.

[Sofa GM]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

They assumed he knew English and the reason they couldn’t understand him was because his tongue was up his nose or he had a mouthful of pizza.

I also believe the fact the Oilers wouldn’t provide a helmet that fit him caused the hockey IQ to be squeezed out.

[dino7c]

You guys do realize the tournament hasn't started yet right?