With their last selection in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, 6th round and 176th overall, the Dallas Stars selected defenseman Jakob Stenqvist out of Sweden.
Who is Jakob Stenqvist? That’s a pretty good question. He wasn’t ranked by any major scouting service heading into the draft, including NHL Central Scouting. His stats say that he’s 6’2″ and that he played 36 games for MODO in Sweden’s top U20 league, picking up seven points.
While this pick might seem like a head-scratcher, it’s important to remember Dallas’ recent history drafting out of Sweden. Their top Swedish scout, Rickard Oquist, uncovered John Klingberg back in 2010 even though Klingberg also wasn’t ranked by NHL Central Scouting. It’s not fair to expect Stenqvist to be the same caliber of player, even though he actually put up better numbers than Klingberg did at the same age and in the same leagues, but Oquist and the Stars deserve quite a bit of trust in their ability to scout Sweden’s junior leagues.
Should be a fun player to watch develop.