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Maple Leafs, Canucks make opposite NHL Draft decisions on Ivar Stenberg originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The 2026 NHL Draft No. 1 overall pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs won't be known for sure until draft night itself.
But there may have been a big hint during NHL Combine week in Buffalo, and it involved Ivar Stenberg, the Vancouver Canucks and the San Jose Sharks.
Teams can have dinner with draft prospects to get to know them better in a different sort of setting. Usually, dinners can express top interest of a given team.
Stenberg, the young Swedish winger, had dinner with two teams: the Sharks and the Canucks. They have the Nos. 2 and 3 picks in the draft.
He didn't have dinner with the Maple Leafs.
MORE: Canucks make Gavin McKenna decision that Maple Leafs, Sharks don't make
This isn't a guarantee of anything, but it's the kind of thing hockey fans will pay attention to as they try to read the tea leaves.
Stenberg was viewed for a while as the main competition for Gavin McKenna in that No. 1 pick slot. Could that be changing?
It is worth noting that the Maple Leafs didn't have dinner with McKenna, either. Apparently that's just not a part of their main strategy.
So maybe reading into the Stenberg plans is much ado about nothing. Or maybe it's telling the NHL that the teams picking second and third don't think McKenna will be there to choose.
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