Stenberg fired up to show off skills at NHL Scouting Combine

The 2026 NHL Scouting Combine presented by Fanatics is taking place this week at KeyBank Center and LECOM HarborCenter in Buffalo. The combine will allow NHL teams an opportunity to conduct interviews and provide physical and medical assessments of the top prospects eligible for the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft. NHL.com will bring you all the sights and stories.

BUFFALO -- Ivar Stenberg arrived at the NHL Scouting Combine on Tuesday and went through the first of his 14 interviews with NHL teams.

The forward with Frolunda of the Swedish Hockey League got a few extra days to rest after playing for Sweden at the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland. 

The 18-year-old was second for Sweden with eight points (four goals, four assists) in eight games and was selected as one of Sweden's top three players. Sweden finished seventh after losing 3-1 to Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

"I was home like three days or something, and then I moved here," Stenberg said. "Nice to be home, and really happy to be here."

Stenberg (5-foot-11, 183 pounds), who is No. 1 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of International skaters, said his success at Worlds gave him the belief that he could play in the NHL as soon as next season.

"I think so," he said. "I think every day at the World Championship I got more and more confident."

Among the teams Stenberg will meet with this week are the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have the No. 1 pick at the 2026 NHL Draft, as well as the San Jose Sharks, who have the No. 2 selection.

Why should an NHL team take him at the top of the draft?

"I'm a very good hockey player that wants to be better every day, every year, improve every day, and learn every day," he said. "And I want to win."

Fighting from the beginning

Ilia Morozov began playing hockey when he was 5 years old living in Moscow. But that wasn't the first sport the Miami University forward played.

"I was doing MMA until I started playing hockey," Morozov said. "When I was 3 years old, before playing hockey I was doing MMA. My parents just put me in there. My dad said, like, you've got to know how to fight."

Morozov wasn't exactly a cage fighter before he started kindergarten, with his mixed martial arts classes focused on learning basic tumbling and coordination. But he did enjoy the experience, and last summer he did a bit more extensive MMA work before starting college.

"I still know the coach who was coaching me when I was 3 years old," Morozov said. "I asked my parents if I can do it for the offseason, just for fun, just to stay in shape a little bit, and I was doing that for two months."

Morozov (6-foot-3, 200 pounds), at 17 the youngest player in college hockey, had 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in 36 games and is No. 10 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters. In addition to hockey and working toward his degree in finance, he also joined the Miami University boxing club, along with teammate Vladislav Lukashevich, a Florida Panthers prospect.

"Me and Vladi, my Russian teammate, on the way to games ... we watched all the 'Rocky' and 'Creed' movies," Morozov said. "We just went there (boxing club) together, and yeah, that was pretty fun."

College an option for Rudolph

Daxon Rudolph might be looking for another challenge next season.

"College is definitely an option that we're exploring," the defenseman with Prince Albert of the Western Hockey League said. "I haven't made a decision quite yet, we're kind of going through that process right now, and it's still kind of up in the air on next year."

Rudolph (6-2, 206) was third among WHL defensemen with 78 points (28 goals, 50 assists) in 68 games and was a finalist for the Bill Hunter Award as the league's top defenseman. During the WHL playoffs, he tied for the scoring lead with 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) in 19 games as Prince Albert reached the WHL final. He's No. 5 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters.

The 18-year-old said he's made visits to Michigan State, Denver and Boston College.

"All different in their own ways, very different schools," he said. "Facilities-wise, Michigan State's unreal, and Denver, the coaching staff, everything there is top class, first class. BC is very cool as well in its own way. It's kind of like a prep school feel, and a great campus."

Rudolph is planning on making his decision sometime before the draft.

Knowling doesn't know his future yet

Brady Knowling of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team, the No.1 goalie on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American goalies, will be playing at Boston University in 2027-28.

But what about next season?

"I'm going to play another year of junior," he said. But he's undecided on whether it'll be in the Canadian Hockey League or the United States Hockey League.

Saginaw of the Ontario Hockey League owns his CHL rights, and Youngstown has his USHL rights. 

"I could make a decision now if I really want to but I'm going to wait until after the draft," Knowling said.

With Mikhail Yegorov, a New Jersey Devils prospect, returning for his third season at Boston University, Knowling said he needs to find a place that will allow him to play as many games as possible next season.

"They have a good goalie at BU right now, and for me it's just where am I going to play the most amount of games?" he said. "I missed my (age) 17 year (played 15 games because of injury), so I want to play as many games as possible. I want to play in World Juniors, and I want to play as many games as I can before World Juniors happens."