Stian Solberg : In-Depth Scouting Report

Coming from a non-traditional hockey market, Stian Solberg represents the brightest prospect to come from Norway in a long time. Having preferred to stay in his native homeland rather than exile elsewhere in Europe, Solberg will still have spent the season in a professional league, which will not have been a lost season for his development. To be honest, I knew nothing about this league and the caliber of play surprised me. The speed of execution and the physical play of this league have nothing to take away from many other better-known leagues on the European continent.

Spotting Solberg on the ice is not difficult, he catches our eye as hard as he hits his opponents. His identity and his contribution to his team rely largely on the quality of his physical game. Two years ago, I declared Lian Bichsel (ranked 13th on my list) as the most physical prospect I had ever seen. By virtue of his play this season, Solberg made a strong sales pitch to claim this title! Watching him destroy adults in Norway bordered on the absurd at times. I could only burst out laughing when I noticed the violence of some of his checks. He is extremely strong on his skates.

What I like about Solberg is that he approaches every game with the same mentality. It’s not the easiest thing to do to assume such a role on the ice and to make himself the number one target of the opposing team, however, he does not shy away from any challenge. Also, I think this shows us what a physical specimen he is. Playing in such a way will inevitably involve musculoskeletal challenges for the one who distributes so many hits. This is also why the aspect of consistency in this facet of the game is rarely checked for players with a similar identity. It’s very hard on the body. However, Solberg turns out to be one of his players with a regenerative ability worthy of the Wolverine. He doesn’t take any evenings off.

Beyond the resounding impact, Solberg delivers a volume of hits that is simply absurd. He never misses any opportunity to make his opponents pay the price. I’m going to conclude this aspect by saying that Don Cherry would only need to watch a Solberg game or two to make a Rock’Em Sock’Em compilation.

I was touching on the subject, but one of the keys for players like this is something we don’t talk about often enough and that’s longevity. Beyond the impacts of hitting, there is a preventive aspect on the ice that the player must be aware of. These players risk seeing a target put on their head in the enemy locker room and they must be extra careful when they jump on the ice. Solberg is often targeted by his opponents, but he is never caught off guard. He firmly waits for the arrival of his enemies and gives them a ‘Reverse Hit’. Hockey executives are now trying to abolish these hits because they are dangerous, but as a Solberg fan, I can’t contain my excitement when I see him destroyed an opponent like this.

The most frightening thing about Solberg is that I believe he still has some muscle and strength to gain. When he is called upon to engage in physical confrontations in a more stationary position, he will not dominate his opponents outrageously as the hits he can gives suggest. I believe gaining upper body strength will help him become more effective in front of the net and in the corners.

What is interesting about the Norwegian is that his physical play does not only serve him to punish his opponents, it is also from this that his defensive game draws its effectiveness.

He uses his body to commit legal interference and thus block the forwards’ path.

I also like the perseverance and tenacity he shows following a check along the boards which fails to completely eliminate his opponent, he will subsequently redouble his effort to trap the forward against the boards, preventing him from putting pressure on Solberg’s defense partner.

What I find unique, however, is how he uses his stick to push his opponents at the hips to cause them to lose balance.

However, not everything is perfect. Number 72 has a few small deficiencies to correct defensively. He has difficulty blocking opposing shots. This is explained by two things.

The first is that he will sometimes bite too hard at an opponent’s shot feint and he will compromise himself, allowing the latter to give himself a better shot location.

The second (and this is something that has persisted throughout the season) is that Solberg doesn’t make himself ‘big’ enough when trying to block shots. Rather than trying to cover as much space as possible, he seems to shy away.

The thing that worried me the most about his game was during a sequence of games during my viewings where he was constantly clearing the puck through the glass. This was very uncharacteristic of him; as we saw previously, he is a player who has no difficulty taking pressure on himself and, normally, he has very good composure. These hasty plays resulted in putting the puck back in the enemy’s hands (or in an Icing call). Despite having many good qualities, it can be these kinds of repeated mistakes that can end up keeping a player out of the lineup.

It was to my bewilderment to observe what was emerging as a very bad tangent in his game, because his ‘Poise‘ was something that I really appreciated about his game. It was clearly not because he was afraid of getting hit that he rushed his actions. Generally, when a player throws the puck like this, it is either because he is afraid of getting hit or because his brain is not processing the information quickly enough, and in a fit of panic, he gets rid of the disk. The first hypothesis does not adhere to Solberg so what about the second?

Well, he has repeatedly demonstrated refinement in his way of operating under pressure.

We see him here having to retrace on his steps, because an opponent is harassing him. The option of sending the puck behind the net is not viable, as one player comes to put pressure on his defense partner on the other side.

He will therefore bring the two forwards with him to the corner of the ice, making sure not to get pinned against the boards with a clever directional fake.

 Subsequently, he will wait for the 2nd forward to close the gap on him to cleverly slide the puck between these 2 opposing forward to a supporting teammate in the center, rather than pushing the puck onto the boards. One pass later and a teammate of Solberg got a breakaway and scored a goal.

His ‘Poise‘ is accentuated due to his belief in his athletic abilities. In his case, this is reflected in his ability to use very nice sudden pivots on his skates to get rid of his pursuer.

But also, by his confidence in protecting the puck with his body. What I like is that within certain sequences, the forward chasing him plays wonderfully with his stick and you would be able to believe that Solberg is going to lose the puck, but his desire to triumph is so great that it never comes close to being a possibility.

To come full circle on this aspect, the Norwegian defenseman has a very strong dose of ‘Deception‘ in his game. He excels at luring an opponent in one direction and finally going in the opposite direction. He is, in my eyes, very good at recovering pucks and escaping pressure thanks to this quality.

This aspect of ‘Deception’ leads me to talk about his offensive game. This is an aspect of his contribution that I find very underestimated. There hasn’t been any discussion surrounding his play in the offensive zone and I think people are missing something, there is substance in that aspect of his game.

His puck distribution is really better than the lack of conversation on the public sphere would suggest. He has very good vision and has made a multitude of magnificent cross-ice passes throughout the season.

And his ability to mislead defensive coverage while never making eye contact with his target deserves much more praise. There is definitely room to develop offensively with him.

In terms of his shooting, there is still a certain element of deception, but his value does not stop there.

Firstly, he manages to get his shots to the net, which is a quality in itself. He finds the shooting lanes even when he finds himself stuck to the boards.

But what excites me the most is his ability to open up shooting lanes in his own unique way. He manages to accelerate in a given direction, without even pushing, after stopping and luring an attacker to compromise on him. He then capitalizes on every inch of ice available to him to advance into open space before shooting.

There is no shortage of mentions about Solberg’s athletic profile, but I must mention that he is a powerful skater. He is very strong on his legs and he manages to generate a lot of power behind each of his strides. He also maintains excellent balance on his skates, even when pushed by his opponents while he is at full speed.

Something nice about him is that you watch him play and you’re never able to guess what the score is, he plays with the same enthusiasm, no matter the result. Norway was not a powerhouse at the World Junior Hockey Championship, having suffered several humiliating losses, yet Solberg continued to play with the same intensity. And it didn’t just stop at physical play, during sequences where he was called upon to recover the puck, he showed the same vigilance and the same confidence, showing no sign of discouragement and continuing to give the best of him. To me, this is a solid show of leadership on his part.

Continuing the level of leadership shown by Solberg, during the relegation game against Germany at the WJC, he made a costly mistake which ended up in the back of his net during the game. Right from the next shift, we saw Solberg hungry to make a difference at the other end. How a player bounces back after a difficult shift or such an error says a lot about his character.

Finally, I am very excited about what the future holds for Stian Solberg. He played all his hockey in Norway and until last year, his country had never played against the power-house that we know on the international scene. Which means that until he was 17, he had never really faced a high caliber of competition. And even though he was playing against men this year in Norway, seeing him play at such a high level against NHL players at the World Championship was a striking statement from the young player to close out his draft season.

Next year, he will wear the colors of Farjestad in the SHL and I think it is an excellent decision on his part to move to a higher caliber, while taking his time and not skipping steps.

My projection stops at a 2nd pair defender, but who brings a unique dimension as well as a lot of leadership. A player you need to get through the playoffs. I’m also banking on the fact that there is possibly still a lot of potential to be found with him.

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