F - Lars Steiner - Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL) - 2026 Draft

[Hockeyville USA]

Never heard of him till now and he's killing it in the Q. It's the Q, but still, very impressive

 

[Hinterland]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1847768560049016936

Played such an impressive game that he was chosen as 1st star by Shawinigan media despite "only" scoring one assist in an away game.
Now has 15 points after 10 games.

 

[SergeConstantin74]

Never heard of him till now and he's killing it in the Q. It's the Q, but still, very impressive

People thought Gridin would be destroying the Q after his 83 points in the USHL but so far he isn’t. (6 points in 8 games)

It shows I think that Steiner’s point totals look impressive without the need to include "it’s the Q".

 

[Speyer]

People thought Gridin would be destroying the Q after his 83 points in the USHL but so far he isn’t. (6 points in 8 games)

It shows I think that Steiner’s point totals look impressive without the need to include "it’s the Q".

The Q might not be the strongest of the Canadian junior league but I never understood the idea that it is supposedly a significantly worse league than the other two and even behind the USHL. Teams out of the Q even won four Memorial Cups in the last five years the tournament was held. Maybe the fact that some of the more notable prospects developed there have struggled to make the jump to the NHL has contributed to the bad image the league has. But there are also a bunch of counter examples to that claim such as Crosby, MacKinnon, Kucherov, Ehlers, Marchand, Hischier etc. Even the supposed bust Lafreniere has been trending really well lately.

As far as Steiner is concerned, he has been coming down to earth lately but that was expected. He still continues to contribute offensively however and seems to be playing well. Even if he should fall below ppg at the end of the season his first year in Canada should be considered a great success. I dont think really anybody had him on his radar as a legit NHL prospect in the first place coming into the season. And he still has another year to develop before he is draft eligible.

 

[BKarchitect]

The Q is now the lowest scoring CHL league, I believe anyways IIRC (feel free to fact check). I don’t think many casual prospect followers realize this. Now you can construct all sorts of arguments about it being the talent level and all that but gone are the days when you do a CHL cross-league comp and say “well of course he’s got a ton of points, it’s the Q”.

Interesting to see Steiner take off and Schenk struggle so much statistically making the same leap. I assume Schenk is starting with a much less important role compared to Steiner?

 

[Andre Palot]

Holla if you hear him.

 

[Tube Skates]

The Q might not be the strongest of the Canadian junior league but I never understood the idea that it is supposedly a significantly worse league than the other two and even behind the USHL. Teams out of the Q even won four Memorial Cups in the last five years the tournament was held. Maybe the fact that some of the more notable prospects developed there have struggled to make the jump to the NHL has contributed to the bad image the league has. But there are also a bunch of counter examples to that claim such as Crosby, MacKinnon, Kucherov, Ehlers, Marchand, Hischier etc. Even the supposed bust Lafreniere has been trending really well lately.

As far as Steiner is concerned, he has been coming down to earth lately but that was expected. He still continues to contribute offensively however and seems to be playing well. Even if he should fall below ppg at the end of the season his first year in Canada should be considered a great success. I dont think really anybody had him on his radar as a legit NHL prospect in the first place coming into the season. And he still has another year to develop before he is draft eligible.

The parity of the Q teams is closer than people think. The best players are generally small and quick and have a harder time graduating to higher levels. The coaching is a cut above other leagues which helps lead to the Memorial Cup victories

 

[SergeConstantin74]

The Q is now the lowest scoring CHL league, I believe anyways IIRC (feel free to fact check). I don’t think many casual prospect followers realize this. Now you can construct all sorts of arguments about it being the talent level and all that but gone are the days when you do a CHL cross-league comp and say “well of course he’s got a ton of points, it’s the Q”.

Interesting to see Steiner take off and Schenk struggle so much statistically making the same leap. I assume Schenk is starting with a much less important role compared to Steiner?

Schenk started on the 1st line and he has fallen down to 4th line in Saint John.

 

[Hinterland]

The Q is now the lowest scoring CHL league, I believe anyways IIRC (feel free to fact check). I don’t think many casual prospect followers realize this. Now you can construct all sorts of arguments about it being the talent level and all that but gone are the days when you do a CHL cross-league comp and say “well of course he’s got a ton of points, it’s the Q”.

Interesting to see Steiner take off and Schenk struggle so much statistically making the same leap. I assume Schenk is starting with a much less important role compared to Steiner?

Schenk started as 1C but kept getting demoted over time. I thought he played well. Had an impact physically and was solid against the puck. Unfortunately he wasn't really able to provide offense on a consistent basis. He has elite vision and passing but probably just wasn't dynamic enough to really put that on display. Maybe he needed more time to adjust to smaller ice, new league, new coaches, new teammates, new culture etc. Then some vets returned from NHL camps and coaches maybe lost patience as well. Once you're in a smaller role it's kinda tough to impress in CHL leagues. Unfortunately for Schenk this is his draft season while Steiner still has time. He's probably gonna get more chances though. It's rare for imports to have a Steiner like impact right away, especially if they're this young.

Steiner, right now, is a much more polished player than Schenk though. There's no doubt about that. He caught Schenk over the course of last season and just has a better learning curve right now.

Having said that, Schenk is much bigger and a Center while Steiner is smaller and right now playing wing only. So even though he's a few months older it's probably normal that Schenk's development is a little bit slower.

 

[Hinterland]

Also kinda interesting how, with the exception of Pedrotti (who I'm not sure if he's actually a legit prospect anyway), all Swiss prospects drafted into the Q this year landed with really good teams. Voltigeurs, Océanic, Sea Dogs and Huskies are 2nd, 4th, 5th and 8th in standings of a league of 18 teams by point percentage. That clearly helps if you can secure a bigger role early like Bosson, Sansonnens (though he's currently injured) and Steiner did but it's not really helpful if you're between 4C and healthy scratch like Schenk. I hope he'll get more chances or a trade down the road. Otherwise it will be difficult for him to get drafted into the NHL...at least in 2025.