Better than McKenna": the Sharks' Ivar Stenberg pick is already turning heads

Ivar Stenberg scored twice and added an assist Thursday night as the San Jose Sharks buried the Anaheim Ducks 7-0 in preseason action.

Two shots, two goals. He walked out of SAP Center with three points and a +3 rating to show for it.

-

That kind of finish doesn't get lost in the video room. Not with Ryan Warsofsky and his staff less than a week away from opening night against the Florida Panthers.

And the kid wasn't hiding on the fourth line to do it. He logged more ice time than Macklin Celebrini, who settled for a single assist.

Stenberg had company on the scoresheet. Michael Misa matched his three points with a goal and two assists, while Igor Chernyshov scored twice on 4 shots.

Mason Marchment added a pair of his own. In the crease, Alex Nedeljkovic turned aside all 16 shots he faced, so Anaheim never found a pulse.

In the NHL's clip of his second goal, the scoreboard reads 5-0 in the second period and a Ducks skater is down on the ice near the blue line.

Jason Demers calls the Sharks' pick the steal of the draft

Jason Demers didn't wait long to pick a side.

Minutes before that clip went up, he posted that Stenberg is better than McKenna and called San Jose's selection at 2 the steal of the draft.

-

Bold? Sure. But takes like that age fast in one direction or the other, and a night like this pushes it the right way for the Sharks.

Preseason hockey is a dress rehearsal where half the cast is still auditioning. Stenberg showed up already knowing every line.

So here's where Bob lands. Leaving him out of the opening-night lineup after this would be a bad call, and a tough one to explain in that locker room.

Even the blue line piled on. Sam Dickinson and Luca Cagnoni each picked up an assist, and Nolan Allan finished a team-best +4.

Anaheim has its own mess to sort through. Ville Husso allowed 6 goals on 19 shots, and Laurent Brossoit gave up another on just 2.

Joel Quenneville's group heads to Los Angeles on Saturday, looking for anything that resembles a response.

San Jose visits Vegas the same day, a chance to answer the 2-1 loss to the Golden Knights from earlier this week.

If the young forward dresses there, the audition rolls on. If he doesn't, people will start asking why.

Warsofsky now has a handful of days to decide whether Thursday was a statement or just a sample size. Stenberg made that choice a lot harder.

Also read on Markerzone.com:
The Jets just got turned down a blockbuster trade offer for Connor Hellebuyck