Prospect Info: Stian Solberg

[12ozPapa]

It's almost like Nattinen ruined things for Ducks drafting more Finns.

I really liked Nattinen :-(

 

[Dryish]

+Kiviharju, though, I believe he is technically Danish

Nah, he was born in Denmark to Finnish parents while his dad was finishing up his professional hockey career there. They moved back to Finland before he was three, he grew up here, has only played here, and is a Finnish citizen.

 

[CrazyDuck4u]

I got a feeling we might have found a diamond in the rough with this pick..

 

[Hockey Duckie]

This. I understood it as well that Solberg was the target all along.

Madden from the All-Access: 2024 NHL Draft Part 1 video (video should pop up at teh 5:25 mark): "Stian wasn't one of the players we identified for that trade initially. We did not think he was going to be there in the early 20s. So as pick 18 came around, he was still on the board, Pat started to call every team between 19 and 23."



My interpretation was Verbeek wanted to move up from 31st OA all along. The front office had a specific set of players they wanted from the 19-23 range. Anaheim probably had a trade in place since pick 18: Ducks sent their 31st and 58th for Toronto's 23rd. The Ducks draft team would take the highest rated player on remaining on their list and, luckily, Stian was still available at 23.

I've read so many Leafs fans wondering why they would trade the pick if Solberg was still there. They don't realize the trade had already occurred several picks beforehand. The Leaf front office wasn't expecting Solberg to drop and neither did the Ducks (see the orange highlight above by Madden).

 

[tomd]

Madden from the All-Access: 2024 NHL Draft Part 1 video (video should pop up at teh 5:25 mark): "Stian wasn't one of the players we identified for that trade initially. We did not think he was going to be there in the early 20s. So as pick 18 came around, he was still on the board, Pat started to call every team between 19 and 23."



My interpretation was Verbeek wanted to move up from 31st OA all along. The front office had a specific set of players they wanted from the 19-23 range. Anaheim probably had a trade in place since pick 18: Ducks sent their 31st and 58th for Toronto's 23rd. The Ducks draft team would take the highest rated player on remaining on their list and, luckily, Stian was still available at 23.

I've read so many Leafs fans wondering why they would trade the pick if Solberg was still there. They don't realize the trade had already occurred several picks beforehand. The Leaf front office wasn't expecting Solberg to drop and neither did the Ducks (see the orange highlight above by Madden).

My interpretation is that Verbeek started calling around at 18 specifically to get Solberg. Madden's 1st and 3rd sentences don't really match up but I think that's just the way he talks. I'm focusing on his 3rd sentence for my interpretation and you are focusing on his 1st sentence for yours. Only Madden can clarify what he really meant to say.

 

[ADHB]

My interpretation is that Verbeek started calling around at 18 specifically to get Solberg. Madden's 1st and 3rd sentences don't really match up but I think that's just the way he talks. I'm focusing on his 3rd sentence for my interpretation and you are focusing on his 1st sentence for yours. Only Madden can clarify what he really meant to say.

I think what the video shows is that they had a plan in place to trade for 23, not expecting Stolberg to be there, but to draft someone fairly high up on their list. Once he was still available at 18 or so, they called the other teams to try and move up even more, because at that point they were afraid he wouldn't last to 23.

So, I guess my interpretation is:

1. The initial trade with Toronto was in the works long before any hopes of Solberg being available. So they weren't "targeting" him with the Leafs trade.

2. The talks of trying to move up to 18-22 were specifically for Solberg, but no one was interested. And then they were fortunate he fell to them at 23, which was a deal that had been worked out well before.

 

[tomd]

I think what the video shows is that they had a plan in place to trade for 23, not expecting Stolberg to be there, but to draft someone fairly high up on their list. Once he was still available at 18 or so, they called the other teams to try and move up even more, because at that point they were afraid he wouldn't last to 23.

So, I guess my interpretation is:

1. The initial trade with Toronto was in the works long before any hopes of Solberg being available. So they weren't "targeting" him with the Leafs trade.

2. The talks of trying to move up to 18-22 were specifically for Solberg, but no one was interested. And then they were fortunate he fell to them at 23, which was a deal that had been worked out well before.

Speculative but possible. For your hypothesis to work, the deal with Toronto would have had to have been conditional and allowed the Ducks to back out if Verbeek found a buyer in the 18-22 range. I find that difficult to believe since the Ducks would have had no motivation "long before any hopes of Solberg being available" to make the trade with Toronto conditional. Why would they and why would Toronto agree to that? And Madden said they started calling at 18 for Solberg so it seems that they were targeting Solberg in that 18-23 range.

Occam's Razor would say that they saw Solberg was still there at 18 and started calling each team to try to swing a trade to get him. Toronto finally said yes at 23. Unfortunately, Madden's comments were definitely contradictory so all we can do is speculate.

 

[Rasp]

Pre draft we had an agreement with Toronto to move up to 23 to get someone that wasn't Solberg. When we saw Solberg there at 18 we started trying to get a higher pick to get him which we couldn't leaving us with the original trade for pick 23.

We probably had a guy or a shortlist of guys who we thought would be there at 23 but ended up with someone we thought would be gone by 17

 

[ADHB]

Speculative but possible. For your hypothesis to work, the deal with Toronto would have had to have been conditional and allowed the Ducks to back out if Verbeek found a buyer in the 18-22 range. I find that difficult to believe since the Ducks would have had no motivation "long before any hopes of Solberg being available" to make the trade with Toronto conditional. Why would they and why would Toronto agree to that? And Madden said they started calling at 18 for Solberg so it seems that they were targeting Solberg in that 18-23 range.

Occam's Razor would say that they saw Solberg was still there at 18 and started calling each team to try to swing a trade to get him. Toronto finally said yes at 23. Unfortunately, Madden's comments were definitely contradictory so all we can do is speculate.

Not really. The trade with Toronto could have still gone through. They could have simply packaged 23 plus something else to move up a few spots.

 

[tomd]

Not really. The trade with Toronto could have still gone through. They could have simply packaged 23 plus something else to move up a few spots.

Hmmm...it's possible I suppose but just as speculative as some of the other theories forwarded. But why did Madden say that Verbeek started to call every team between 19 and 23 once they saw Solberg was still available? Wouldn't it have been 19 and 22?

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Pre draft we had an agreement with Toronto to move up to 23 to get someone that wasn't Solberg. When we saw Solberg there at 18 we started trying to get a higher pick to get him which we couldn't leaving us with the original trade for pick 23.

We probably had a guy or a shortlist of guys who we thought would be there at 23 but ended up with someone we thought would be gone by 17

I think this makes sense just based on what madden said

"Stein wasnt a player we identified for that trade initially"

sounded like we def had a diff player in mind prior to draft day/pick..... but also they didnt think Solberg would be there.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Hmmm...it's possible I suppose but just as speculative as some of the other theories forwarded. But why did Madden say that Verbeek started to call every team between 19 and 23 once they saw Solberg was still available? Wouldn't it have been 19 and 22?

Probably Madden gave a Solberg historical preference since we were able to draft Solberg. Although, Madden stated Solberg wasn't in their initial trade plans. It's very important not to omit this fact. This means Madden had a set of players they wanted if they could move up between 19 and 23, or maybe it was between 19 and the highest they can get and that became #23. The trade was in place for #23 probably during pick #18's waiting time, whether if Solberg was there or not b/c Madden had other players in mind. It was fortunate that Solberg was still there.

Verbeek just wanted to move up from #31 and found a willing partner at #23 with the Leafs. This is akin to the Sharks wanting to move up from #14 and found a willing partner at #11 a day before the draft with the Sabres. Sharks had no idea which defenseman would fall, but hoping one could fall to #11. Two were available in Buium and Dickinson; Sharks chose Dickinson. Good thing they traded up b/c none of the top-6 D lasted beyond the #12th pick.

 

[Masch78]

The way Madden talks about Lucas Patterson, it could be even him being the target for #23.

 

[tomd]

Probably Madden gave a Solberg historical preference since we were able to draft Solberg. Although, Madden stated Solberg wasn't in their initial trade plans. It's very important not to omit this fact. This means Madden had a set of players they wanted if they could move up between 19 and 23, or maybe it was between 19 and the highest they can get and that became #23. The trade was in place for #23 probably during pick #18's waiting time, whether if Solberg was there or not b/c Madden had other players in mind. It was fortunate that Solberg was still there.

Verbeek just wanted to move up from #31 and found a willing partner at #23 with the Leafs. This is akin to the Sharks wanting to move up from #14 and found a willing partner at #11 a day before the draft with the Sabres. Sharks had no idea which defenseman would fall, but hoping one could fall to #11. Two were available in Buium and Dickinson; Sharks chose Dickinson. Good thing they traded up b/c none of the top-6 D lasted beyond the #12th pick.

Based on Madden's confusing three sentence comments, I can buy that the Ducks were trying to move up w/o having Solberg initially in mind (his 1st sentence). I can also buy that they were trying to move up just for Solberg (his 3rd sentence). What I can't buy is that Verbeek already had a trade in place with Toronto for 23OA and was trying to make a 2nd trade to move up even higher. There is just no evidence that that is true without reading so deep into Madden's comments that you are in the Mariana Trench. As speculation it is fun though.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Based on Madden's confusing three sentence comments, I can buy that the Ducks were trying to move up w/o having Solberg initially in mind (his 1st sentence). I can also buy that they were trying to move up just for Solberg (his 3rd sentence). What I can't buy is that Verbeek already had a trade in place with Toronto for 23OA and was trying to make a 2nd trade to move up even higher. There is just no evidence that that is true without reading so deep into Madden's comments that you are in the Mariana Trench. As speculation it is fun though.

Verbeek was trying to move up from 31st. He was calling between picks 19 to 23 during pick 18. The only team that agreed to make a trade during pick 18 was Toronto's pick, 23rd OA.

I think you created two different trade scenarios: 1) trading up to 23rd and 2) then trading up from 23rd to picks 19-22. If you watch the video I shared, you'll hear Madden saying trying to trade up between picks 19 to 23.

If Solberg was already picked before pick 23, then Verbeek and Madden would still keep the pick to select another player. But Solberg fell and we snatched him up at 23, bypassing Madden's initial trade targets.

 

[tomd]

Verbeek was trying to move up from 31st. He was calling between picks 19 to 23 during pick 18. The only team that agreed to make a trade during pick 18 was Toronto's pick, 23rd OA.

I think you created two different trade scenarios: 1) trading up to 23rd and 2) then trading up from 23rd to picks 19-22. If you watch the video I shared, you'll hear Madden saying trying to trade up between picks 19 to 23.

If Solberg was already picked before pick 23, then Verbeek and Madden would still keep the pick to select another player. But Solberg fell and we snatched him up at 23, bypassing Madden's initial trade targets.

I agree with you by and large but there are others who have been speculating that the Toronto deal was made in advance and Verbeek was trying to do a 2nd trade to move higher to get Solberg. Those thoughts are in this very thread. I see no evidence for that speculation.

 

[Rasp]

I agree with you by and large but there are others who have been speculating that the Toronto deal was made in advance and Verbeek was trying to do a 2nd trade to move higher to get Solberg. Those thoughts are in this very thread. I see no evidence for that speculation.

Verbeek reached out to teams predraft to gauge if they were open to trading and he specifically said he targeted teams without many picks in the draft. No deal was locked in until the trade. The whole discussion about trying to move up from 18 would have be in place of the Toronto deal not in addition to it.

 

[tomd]

Verbeek reached out to teams predraft to gauge if they were open to trading and he specifically said he targeted teams without many picks in the draft. No deal was locked in until the trade. The whole discussion about trying to move up from 18 would have be in place of the Toronto deal not in addition to it.

Well that I agree with. But to be clear, There is no evidence of a contingent Toronto deal that was reached in advance.

 

[Rasp]

Well that I agree with. But to be clear, There is no evidence of a contingent Toronto deal that was reached in advance.

Nothing is decided until the paperwork is submitted. Another team could have offered more or Toronto could have wanted to keep the pick if someone they liked dropped.

However per Verbeek "We've been preparing for this for awhile based on some of the teams that didnt have picks and that would look to get extra picks so you know it was planned"

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Nothing is decided until the paperwork is submitted. Another team could have offered more or Toronto could have wanted to keep the pick if someone they liked dropped.

However per Verbeek "We've been preparing for this for awhile based on some of the teams that didnt have picks and that would look to get extra picks so you know it was planned"

Because Verbeek already had plans laid to look for teams to be trade partners prior to draft day, the fact Madden admitted Stian initially wasn't part of the trade targetted players, and the other factors (highlighted in orange above) is why the Ducks probably made the deal during pick 18. By securing the trade early, it prevents another team from trying to acquire the trade and it also prevents the trade partner from changing their minds when a player or two starts to drop. Knowing that Toronto drafted RD Danford at 31st OA, why didn't Toronto keep the 23rd pick when it was their time to go to the podium with Solberg still available? (That's a rhetorical question.)

With everything premeditated in moving up in the draft and targeting a set of prospects between 19-23, I don't understand why the Ducks would wait until pick 23 to pull the trigger. The Ducks table went on the offense to trade up during pick 18 and locked up a trade early, regardless if Stian was still there or not.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Christ, I’ve been at orthodox seders that didn’t parse the word of god this closely. When the f*** will it be October.

 

[Webster]

Looks like Solberg will get a top role for Färjestad. He's been paired up with Minnesota Wild's Jonas Brodin, a star player who joined the team for training. And Brodin was impressed by Solberg's game: "you can see he has that little extra".

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Christ, I’ve been at orthodox seders that didn’t parse the word of god this closely. When the f*** will it be October.

September... specifically Sept 13th for the Ducks. That's when the rookie tourney begins.

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/latest-news/details-for-rookie-faceoff-tournament-slowly-emerging

As for LD Solberg and G Clara, their Fäjestad BK training camp has already begun. Here's their lineup for Aug 9th scrimmage.

Färjestad BK's first pre-season game is on Aug 16th. First SHL regular season game is on Sept 21st.

Hopefully, we'll get some fans in Sweden to post some updates on both of our prospects.

 

[Webster]

Solberg made headlines last night after his first game in the SHL. He dropped the gloves and demolished a guy, and had 7 hits. - "I want to make myself known already".

He also played well on the blueline.

 

[anezthes]

Might have to watch some SHL this year.