Stenberg's Early Impressions Have Carved Out Path For What Will Be Successful Career With St. Louis Blues

ST. LOUIS – Otto Stenberg came to the St. Louis Blues with an open mind.

A first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, when Stenberg was called up by the Blues and made his NHL debut on Dec. 17 against the Winnipeg Jets, there were no real expectations at the time.

But the 20-year-old made such a good and lasting impression on the Blues and the organization, he lasted 18 games, and would have lasted longer had he not been assigned to Springfield of the American Hockey League on Monday in order to remain eligible to play games there while the Olympic break is in play.

But through all the firsts of not being a pro but being an NHL pro, the trials and tribulations that go with that, including an 82-game schedule, travel, time zone changes, etc. etc, Stenberg, who had eight points (one goal, seven assists) and was a team-leading plus-4, but there’s one lasting impression the young forward made.

“He doesn’t cheat the game,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said.

Enough said.

Stenberg has been so defensively sound, so fundamentally sound, it was as if he knew what he was coming into at the highest level without being overwhelmed by what he was to face.

Sure, there were nerves. That’s only natural. But this is a kid that has played in the Swedish Hockey League as a teenager for two years with grown men, and it was instilled upon him at an early age that seems to have him at a great advantage.

“When I played on the U-20 team, it was like close to the SHL team. That was one of the things that the coach told me,” Stenberg said. “‘I need to be able to trust you in the D-zone if you want to play.’ I think that made me think about it more. I think I just got better and better every game there.

“I’m just trusting my reads. ‘Monty’ told me early that he trusts my reads so he wants me to play when I see and read the game. Of course we have some things that we do as a team, but I would say most of the time, it’s playing on what I see and trust my reads.”

Montgomery gave Stenberg immediate confidence by putting him in situations that would merit much detail in close games, and Stenberg said, “Yeah, of course. In the beginning when he told me that, it gave me confidence. It’s easy to play when you don’t have to think that much about what the coaches are saying. Of course it gives you confidence and it’s easier to play.”

Stenberg was given many roles, including a top six role, a role on the penalty kill, a role in 5-on-6 situations when it would merit the Blues closing leads out.

The kid didn’t disappoint.

“Obviously a smart hockey player, detailed, trusts his game, knows the system and I think he was very good in his first couple games defensively and making the right reads and I think how you’re just kind of seeing a little bit more confidence and with the puck,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. “He’s a good, solid two-way player. He’s going to be good for a long time in this league. One, because he wants to learn and two, he’s willing to get better.”

Montgomery added, “His defensive instincts are really high-end for a young player in the league. He said that where he was in Sweden, they really harped on D-zone details. Now, his offensive side of the game, I think that’s going to shine more through him being more confident that he’s an NHL player. And then that’s up to us to encourage him to have more risk because we trust his instincts. When you trust someone’s instincts, you can have a little more risk because we know you’re going to go everything you can to get back on the right side of pucks.”

As for that offense, it will come.

And the opportunity now to go to Springfield and play in all situations should serve new Thunderbirds coach Steve Ott, who had Stenberg in St. Louis as an associate coach, well. Ott wasn’t surprised what Stenberg was able to do.

“I wouldn’t say it surprised me at all,” Ott said. “I thought in training camp, you could see his hockey IQ. It’s extremely high even for an NHL guy. His play without the puck is extremely smart. As his game progressed here in the last month or so, you could see even the more skill coming out where he’s making the strong puck play. His forecheck and pressure continues to improve and you’re watching a young player gain his confidence in the NHL, which isn’t easy to do. I think he’s got a great engine on him. He’s going to come down here and play in all situations and continue to develop so that when he does go back, he’ll be a player that sticks and has a great future in the NHL.”

The fact Stenberg is willing to check and go to those hard areas should bode well. He needs time and reps in those areas. There was a situation in a game in which he was on a backdoor play with Robert Thomas, who made a high-end play getting the puck there from the slot that Stenberg just missed on, and you could see the disappointment on his face as he got to the bench. Again, time and reps will rectify that. The fact he’s going there is something that one has to instill in themselves.

“I think it’s getting better and better,” Stenberg said. “I feel like I have more time with the puck. That’s something I want to get better at and keep developing at this level. I’ve always been an offensive player when I was young. I know I have it in me. I just need to get more and more comfortable at this level and I think it will come more and more.

“It makes it easy to play when the coach trusts you.”

And the players quickly, not only adapted, but also trusted the kid.

“I think it’s real important, whether it’s Otto or ‘Dvo’, the next guy that gets drafted by the St. Louis Blues,” Schenn said. “The faster you make people feel comfortable in the environment and the surroundings, the better off and more confident they’re going to get with their own games and the better they’re going to play for the organization. Guys did it to me when I was young, guys did it to me when I came to St. Louis, so my job is to help guys and pass things along, make them feel as comfortable as possible. Whatever help they need, I’ll try and do my best to be there for the next up-and-coming guy because someone did that for me when I was younger.”

To which Stenberg said, “He’s been so good to me, since I started in training camp and in the summer. He texted me before I came here. He’s a great guy outside of the rink and in the locker room. He’s helped me a lot with the game in the beginning. It was so easy to ask him. He talked to be about things because sometimes it’s hard to understand when (coaches) are writing stuff on the board. He just showed me and everything was clear. He’s helped me a lot. He’s been so good. To everybody in this locker room.

“It’s been great. I’m pretty sure he helps ‘Dvo’ and all the other young guys too. It’s been great.”

Stenberg is in Springfield to play today but this is only temporary. He will be back wearing No. 28 again, and soon.

“He’s had a real good stint with us,” Montgomery said. “Consistently reliable, someone that is very smart offensively and defensively, and then offensively, he needs to expand his game. Right now, he gets a lot of opportunities. I think working on his shot and mindset of being more aggressive getting to the blue paint offensively is something that’s going to let him when he comes back to be an even better Blue for us. But he’s had a really, really good tenure with us in his first go-around in the NHL.”

In other words, don’t get too comfortable in Massachusetts because Missouri will be home again, and for quite a bit.

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