As the second round of the 2024 NHL Draft rolled on, Teddy Stiga turned to Rivers forward Will Hatten, one of two best friends he brought along to Las Vegas.
“Geez,” Stiga said. “We could be sitting here awhile.”
Stiga, a Sudbury, Mass., native, cracked that joke as the 55th pick approached. With that 55th selection, the Nashville Predators took Stiga.
They would wait no longer.
“It’s kind of a blur,” Stiga said of the moments after being taken. “I remember the walk down felt like a while. Putting on the jersey was awesome (as was) getting to shake (Predators general manager) Barry Trotz’s hand and say thank you to all the people who helped draft me. And then I went back and did all the media and pictures and whatnot.
“It was all fun because it was such a surreal moment. It was awesome.”
In the leadup to the draft, Stiga knew he was going to be taken. But he hadn’t really ever considered going to an actual team.
“Growing up as a Boston fan, you only picture yourself as a Bruin,” Stiga said. “I talked to all these different teams, but I’d never really pictured it until it happened. So it was really cool.”
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Stiga brought his hockey gear to Las Vegas in anticipation of heading straight to a team’s development camp, which is exactly what happened. The Predators held their development camp July 1-6, meaning Stiga flew from Las Vegas to Nashville and began camp.
He had been to Nashville before for hockey tournaments. He knows full well what a destination the city has become. When Stiga is a full-time Nashville Predator, there will be no shortage of friends and family wanting to make the quick trip to the Honky Tonk City.
But Stiga also feels the organization is a great future fit on the ice.
“I like the way they play,” he said. “I think I fit the mold of their players. Obviously, the guys they signed over the summer and stuff like that was cool to see. The team is definitely going to be a really good team, and hopefully making the team someday would be awesome.”
If this all feels like a whirlwind few days for Stiga, that’s because it was. And it’s been a whirlwind year for the 5-foot-10, 179-pound left wing.
After an injury-riddled, up-and-down U-17 season with the U.S. National Team Development Program, Stiga’s stock was relatively low. He scored 12 goals and totaled 21 points in 49 games that season and was a small blip on the 2024 NHL Draft radar.
Then came the breakout.
Stiga, who flanked the left side of superstar center James Hagens and right wing Brodie Ziemer, finished this past season with 36 goals and 79 points in 61 games. He also tallied six goals and 11 points in the U-18 World Junior Championship.
“Every process I’ve gone through with every group I’ve had, there’s always that one guy or two guys that make major strides from year one to year two,” NTDP U-18 coach Nick Fohr said. “You sit there in the summertime and wonder who that guy is going to be. That was Teddy for us.”
Part of the reason Stiga took off was all the time spent in the gym while he was rehabbing injuries during his U-17 season. But another element was his compete.
“He’s just got a motor that goes and goes and goes,” Fohr said. “He can make plays with talented players and he competes so hard. He’s a lot of fun to coach and I was really happy for him and the progress that he made.”
This summer was packed for Stiga. After the draft, there was the World Junior Summer Showcase in late July and early August. From there, players will eventually be selected for the World Junior Hockey Championships. That will be played in late December and early January 2025. Then it was time to get on campus in Chesnut Hill.
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He projects to be a vital piece of the top nine for the Eagles. Hagens, his former center, is an early favorite to be the team’s No. 1 pivot. Early practice lines have Stiga slotted behind Hagens as the No. 2 center.
But now is also a time for Stiga to look back on what got him to this point. Stiga, who was once a standout for the Boston Junior Eagles and Belmont Hill, became a national name at the NTDP.
“I think the NTDP was probably the best decision I ever made,” he said. “As a hockey player, it did so much for me. I learned to deal with adversity and kind of grow my game. I became a way better player with all the coaching and practices we did and going against the best players every day. Also the person I’ve become moving away from home and being with such awesome guys for two years. I honestly don’t really know what I’d be like if I hadn’t done that and stayed at Belmont Hill or gone to the USHL.
“I think it’s probably the best thing I ever have done.”
