F Teddy Stiga - USNTDP (2024 Draft)

[Pavel Buchnevich]

The problem for him is his size and speed and that he’s good with the puck, not great. He’s a little like Sean Farrell in the profile you are looking at. You could get a middle six winger or you could get a great AHL’er. I find his floor to be high but his ceiling to be low. He probably fits in the second round at this point.

 

[95snipes]

I like Stiga alot, but I'd be surprised to see him go 1st round. Gabe Perreault had similar strengths and weaknesses last year, but was/is much better than Stiga and fell to 23.

There are ~10ish better bets in the USHL/NCAA alone.

Edit - shocked wasn't the right word choice.

 

[sigx15]

I like Stiga alot, but I'd be shocked to see him go 1st round. Gabe Perreault had similar strengths and weaknesses last year, but was/is much better than Stiga and fell to 23.

There are ~10ish better bets in the USHL/NCAA alone.

I'm really interested to see how he looks at the U18s. His skating and size combination are his biggest questionmarks. I also, think having a big pop of a year can sometimes give people pause but the fact he's been really good at center and wing both with and without Hagens this year is a big plus. I think a Perrault light is a good comparison for him, both meh skaters but really good hockey sense. I actually think Stiga has pretty good edgework, his straight away stride is just too choppy and doesn't bring his feet back in so he loses a lot of speed. I think Perrault has better vision but Stiga is probably a bit more of a pure scorer/shooter.

I'd be surprised to see him go in the first round but all it takes is one team think they can improve his skating enough to see the rest of his skills translate to the next level. Will be interesting to see where he's drafted in relation to Bednarik, Ziemer, Plante, and Humphreys. My guess is 1 or 2 of them go ahead of him but I don't necessarily think they should

 

[95snipes]

I'm really interested to see how he looks at the U18s. His skating and size combination are his biggest questionmarks. I also, think having a big pop of a year can sometimes give people pause but the fact he's been really good at center and wing both with and without Hagens this year is a big plus. I think a Perrault light is a good comparison for him, both meh skaters but really good hockey sense. I actually think Stiga has pretty good edgework, his straight away stride is just too choppy and doesn't bring his feet back in so he loses a lot of speed. I think Perrault has better vision but Stiga is probably a bit more of a pure scorer/shooter.

I'd be surprised to see him go in the first round but all it takes is one team think they can improve his skating enough to see the rest of his skills translate to the next level. Will be interesting to see where he's drafted in relation to Bednarik, Ziemer, Plante, and Humphreys. My guess is 1 or 2 of them go ahead of him but I don't necessarily think they should

I'm sure Stiga will look good at the U18s. That's going to be the weakest competition that NTDP has played all year.

Stiga can play center in the USHL, possibly/probably in the NCAA, but I don't see him as an NHL center on any team with stanley cup aspirations. The skillset just isn't there. I think he's a support player from the wing and a potentially good one - if he develops well. He's got very good hockey sense as you said and enough skill that you think he could produce in a top 6 role. But there's a also a realistic floor where Stiga is an AHL player. One area where Stiga doesn't get enough credit is that he is good on both sides of the puck. He's got a good two way game.

Just my opinion, but I wouldn't go 1st round on any of those players you mentioned. Bednarik has a lot of good qualities, but lacks the dynamic ability. He's most likely a middle 6 type. I could see Bednarik over Stiga depending on what you value and what you're looking for. The rest I don't see. I like Humphreys, but his profile is pretty similar to Stiga's, but has had a worse year. Ziemer and Plante would be later round guys for me, but NHL teams might think otherwise.

 

[sigx15]

The highest I've seen anyone have him, our old friend Will Scouch, has Stiga all the way up to 13th. I don't think many people will have him this high but I am interested to see how many draft guys end up with him in the first round in the next couple of months

it's at about 1:09 in this where he talks about him

 

[Castle8130]

He just scored for USA against Finland.

A small winger with a ton of skill. Is he skilled enough to go 1st round? He's an intriguing player. Might be in the same category as Bradly nadeau last year

 

[Marc the Habs Fan]

Now has a hat trick.

 

[Castle8130]

My god, just saw he is going to BC next year. Now BC is going to have the Smith line and the Hagens line???

 

[Hockeyville USA]

We now have a new candidate for "He's going way earlier than most think" in this year's draft.

 

[Blueston]

It's still pretty small and the fact he is a small 5'10" doesn't help. He isn't close to filled out and gets pushed off the puck easily by USHL players. The skill might be good enough to keep him in the second, but he also plays the least valuable position. Think William Whitelaw and Jayden Perron of last draft. Even Riley Heidt went way lower than expected and he's a center. Personally, I would draft Stiga in the early to mid 2nd round myself. I think he has more skill than all of those guys.

Outside of Hagens, Stiga is the most offensively dynamic forward on that USNTDP team by quite a bit. Very high IQ forward that is reliable both offensively and defensively. I think scouts will see he is dynamic enough to go in the second round, but scouts love size in these rounds.

he reminds me of jayden schwartz. i think he's a first rounder, and not necessarily at end of round.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He just scored for USA against Finland.

A small winger with a ton of skill. Is he skilled enough to go 1st round? He's an intriguing player. Might be in the same category as Bradly nadeau last year

He can also play center, but will probably have to move off of it eventually. My comparison is Sean Farrell. Teams are going to have to weigh the Hagens factor. I don’t think he’s a product of Hagens, but if you’re not a fan of him you’re probably saying as reason #1 that all these great players along the way make a common linemate look a lot better than they are.

 

[sigx15]

He can also play center, but will probably have to move off of it eventually. My comparison is Sean Farrell. Teams are going to have to weigh the Hagens factor. I don’t think he’s a product of Hagens, but if you’re not a fan of him you’re probably saying as reason #1 that all these great players along the way make a common linemate look a lot better than they are.

He's been on and off his line all year and produced when he wasn't. There was a 2-3 week stretch in the middle of the year when they moved him back to center and he was still putting up numbers. Same goes for when Hagens missed a few games. I actually think Hagens struggled to put up points more when they put him back with Eiserman for a stretch than Stiga did when he was with other players

The biggest thing I like about his game is his tenaciousness. He's always battling and chasing guys down, he's a puck hound in a really good way. Sure his skating isn't great but he has great energy whether he's putting up points or not. He's just really versatile. Maybe his skating holds him back from being a top 2 line at the NHL level, maybe it doesn't but with the way he plays, I could easily see him be a really solid bottom 6 guy too

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He's been on and off his line all year and produced when he wasn't. There was a 2-3 week stretch in the middle of the year when they moved him back to center and he was still putting up numbers. Same goes for when Hagens missed a few games. I actually think Hagens struggled to put up points more when they put him back with Eiserman for a stretch than Stiga did when he was with other players

The biggest thing I like about his game is his tenaciousness. He's always battling and chasing guys down, he's a puck hound in a really good way. Sure his skating isn't great but he has great energy whether he's putting up points or not. He's just really versatile. Maybe his skating holds him back from being a top 2 line at the NHL level, maybe it doesn't but with the way he plays, I could easily see him be a really solid bottom 6 guy too

I definitely agree. I've seen enough of him driving the bus without Hagens help that I think he'll be a good player and isn't a product of Hagens.

I'm just saying that his profile unfortunately could be looked at in that way and I assume is by scouts that aren't that high on him. A guy who was pretty anemic last season, has size/skating concerns, and all of a sudden pops up with much higher point totals after he finds a role playing often (yes, not entirely) with a player who is likely to be picked first.

 

[SK94]

The more I watch his games, the more I'm convinced that it's not just the Hagens effect.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Biggest riser in the USNTDP class, probably an easier player to talk yourself down on than talk up (smallish, likely a wing long-term, not a burner) but he seems all over the place from the aggregators, so maybe some team out there really likes him.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Reminds me of Seth Jarvis & Jake Guentzel. Smallish guy who isn't a blazing skater. But still plays the game at a really fast pace. Smart, skilled player who sees the ice really well and understands how to find soft spots in coverage.

Like Jarvis, he'll be a late riser in the draft year. If he gets a bit quicker and stronger he could be an elite complimentary NHL winger.

 

[95snipes]

Reminds me of Seth Jarvis & Jake Guentzel. Smallish guy who isn't a blazing skater. But still plays the game at a really fast pace. Smart, skilled player who sees the ice really well and understands how to find soft spots in coverage.

Like Jarvis, he'll be a late riser in the draft year. If he gets a bit quicker and stronger he could be an elite complimentary NHL winger.

I've always thought Guentzel was the shoot for the moon comp with Stiga. Not the biggest or fastest, but they are so smart and skilled enough that it doesn't matter. They both understand how to click with higher end talent which is an underrated trait to have. I also like @Blueston 's Schwartz comp.

I would amend my earlier post, shocked wasn't the right word choice, but he's typically the type that NHL teams are ok passing on (Benson, Perreault, etc, etc). But he's been great all year and deserves the praise he's getting.