Ivar Stenberg & Alberts Smits Address Reporters at the 2026 NHL Scouting Combine · Jun. 5, 2026
The two top-ranked international skaters took the podium in Buffalo with conversation centered on their experience playing professional hockey overseas and competing on the world stage. Stenberg — ranked first among international skaters after a 33-point SHL season with Frölunda, the most by an 18-year-old since the Sedin twins in 1998-99 — smiled when asked about going first overall to Toronto, saying simply that he wants to play in the best league in the world and that he wants to win. Smits, the 6-foot-3 Latvian defender who was the youngest player at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, kept his answers grounded when asked about competing on that stage, saying he just went out there and tried to do his job.