BSH 2024 Community Draft Board, No. T-32: Teddy Stiga

In a draft board already swimming in ties, what’s one more to help us close things out. In the first part for our tied 32nd spot, we meet Teddy Stiga, a high-motor winger on an absolutely rapid upward developmental trajectory, who might turn out to be one of the steals in this class.

Pre-Draft Rankings

No. 68 by TSN/Bob McKenzie
No. 23 by Elite Prospects
No. 20 by Dobber Prospects
No. 28 by Sportsnet/Jason Bukala

Statistics

What’s to like?

Stiga has had one of the steeper developmental progressions of this top prospects group. After putting up just 33 points over 76 games with the NTDP’s U17 group, he took a massive step forward this year, totaling 54 goals and 118 points in 88 games played, finishing the season third in points among his teammates, behind just Cole Eiserman and 2025 draft eligible James Hagens. And this, in turn, has really raised his stock in the eyes of some teams and who may have overlooked him heading into this season.

Stiga is, broadly, a very active player. With the puck, he’s been one of the most (if not the most) efficient generator of offensive chances in this NTDP class. He’s a very cerebral player, but also a high-effort player (he’s got a great motor and he just does not quit). This all means that he can spot plays so quickly, find seams as they’re only just emerging and set up dangerous plays for his teammates, and he does it at a high pace. And even if the first look doesn’t work, he’s right back on it, refusing to give up on the play.

On a more individual level, for his own chances, he’s able to well and quickly find the soft areas of the ice, find a bit of space, to get shots on net. And this, too, is something of the key here — not only does he create a high volume of shot attempts, but he gets a high percentage of those on net.

And then without the puck, he’s always seeming to be playing with pace. He’s hugely tenacious in pressuring opponent puck carriers, looking to cut down on space available and force turnovers. More often than not, he comes out with the puck, and he’s very quick to transition from defense to offense, and get the puck moving back up-ice himself. Overall (as noted by Will Scouch in the video below, based on his tracked data) Stiga has been a very impactful player in transition, on the whole.

Stiga is undersized as a player, coming in at 5’10 and 179 pounds, but this hasn’t seemed to be a real hindrance to him up to this point — he’s just so shifty with how he can cut and pivot on his edges that he’s quite elusive to defenders, he’s found ways to avoid the physical matchups altogether. His overall quickness is an asset to him here too, as well as how well he creates separation for himself, he’s often winning his matchups in ways outside of the physical, and it’s been effective.

He’s a worker, but he’s got serious skill that just seems to keep improving, meaning his individual impacts are certainly noticeable, but he’s also a player who will elevate the others around him, and that’s valuable.

What’s not to like?

Stiga’s size is the one issue that’s been pointed to most frequently when it comes to discussions like these. And even though, as we said, we haven’t seen the size be an issue for him so far, there are still going to be some traditionalists that will always have to keep him outside of the absolute upper echelon of their prospect rankings for this alone. To each their own.

One other concern — and even calling it that feels too strong — comes in relative to that huge developmental jump that he took this season. Development, as we know, isn’t linear, so we can’t exactly bank on him to just continue improving at an exponential rate. So that leaves us with the question: what’s next? There’s always a risk that any prospect could just top out at any point, but with Stiga, his situation seems just a bit extra volatile, so that’s something that any team interested in him would have to reckon with ahead of time.

How would he fit in the Flyers system?

Despite that potential volatility, Stiga remains exactly the type of player that the Flyers would do well to take a shot on. His skillset as it stands leaves him with a relatively stable floor, but his remaining growth potential makes it so he could turn out to be one of the late first-round or early second-round steals in this draft. We’ve talked about this before, but you can’t rebuild well without taking some shots on some high-ceiling players, and that’s exactly what they would be looking at doing by drafting Stiga.

The Flyers do have a bit of a logjam at the winger position, and that complicates things here, but the overall package with Stiga should still be an interesting one (especially considering that he’s a player that would fit really seamlessly in with the system John Tortorella is trying to have them play).

Can the Flyers actually get him?

There’s clearly a pretty wide range as far as where Stiga is projected to go in this draft, and while there’s certainly a chance that he’s off the board by the time the 32nd overall pick even rolls around, more likely, he’ll be there as an option for them at the end of the first round (and in fact he might even fall a bit further and remain as an option for one of the Flyers’ two second round picks).

What the scouts are saying

When I asked two staff at the NTDP about Stiga midway through the season, one called him the most underrated player on the team and the other simply said, “Teddy Stiga is just a hockey player.” That latter line, as ambiguous as it is, feels rather fitting. Scouts had a tough time putting a finger on a projection for Stiga to start the year, because while he was a likeable and talented player, he was a 5-foot-10 winger who didn’t wow people a year ago. His progression since, though, has been among the steepest in the age group. He isn’t necessarily a mold or an archetype but he stirs the drink on the ice, whatever line he’s on is usually the one that’s clicking, and his game has just taken off…

He always seems to be in the mix of the play offensively on his line and producing and making plays when they’re there to be made. He’s got a great feel for the game and on-ice awareness. He’s consistently noticeable. He’s competitive and engaged and will let opposing players know both of those things when challenged. His shifts always seem to be spent in the offensive zone. He’s a plus-level skater who keeps his feet moving on and off the puck. He’s got skill and craft and showed some real creativity as the year progressed, with sneaky vision. Add in gifts as a small-area player with noticeable handling and finesse skills, some spins, and a knack for finishing on the chances he gets and he’s intriguing. He has caught my eye in most of my viewings this year, plays with some jump, seems to make plays in transition and inside the offensive zone, and seems to fit with talented players. I think he might surprise some people at BC next year with the impact he’s ready to make.
Scott Wheeler, The Athletic

A spark-plug player who saw a major uptick in production and a big performance at the U18, Stiga’s stock has been on the rise throughout the year. He’s tenacious off the puck and has shown he can score on his own. Because of his skating ability and compete level, I’m not as concerned Stiga’s size will hinder him significantly, or at all.
Chris Peters, Flo Hockey

Previously on the 2024 BSH Community Draft Board