Soon enough, Washington Capitals fans will know who they will be taking with the 17th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. They could draft a few different positions in that spot. If they go defense, a couple of names to consider include Adam Jiricek and Carter Yakemchuk. Another blueliner who is getting plenty of attention ahead of the draft is Stian Solberg, who has grown his game in the Vålerenga program for the last few seasons. He would be another potentially solid draft option should general manager Brian MacLellan call his name on June 28.
Becoming Well-Known with Vålerenga
Solberg was born on Dec. 29, 2005, in Oslo, Norway. Like fellow 2024 Draft choice Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, Solberg spent some seasons with the different teams on the Vålerenga club. His first season was with the U16 team in 2019-20. He played in 23 games for the squad and accumulated 20 points in 23 games (three goals and 17 assists). He split his second hockey season there between the U16 and U18 groups. The 2020-21 campaign saw Solberg play significantly fewer games. He played in a combined 13 games between the two groups. He notched seven assists in four games with Vålerenga U16, while the U18 squad saw him collect 11 points in nine games.
The first big opportunity for Solberg was during 2021-22 when he got to play for the main Vålerenga roster in the EliteHockey Ligaen (EHL) for the first time. He also played for the U18 and U20 programs that hockey season. He posted the following stats with each of these programs during that time:
- 2021-22 Vålerenga U18: one goal and three assists for four points in four games
- 2021-22 Vålerenga U20: two goals and six assists for eight points in 11 games
- 2021-22 Vålerenga (EHL): one assist in 11 games
Solberg continued to get better and produced the following numbers for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 regular-season campaigns:
- 2022-23 Vålerenga U20: two goals and three assists for five points in two games
- 2022-23 Vålerenga (EHL): one goal and three assists for four points in 18 games
- 2023-24 Vålerenga (EHL): five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in 42 games
On top of that, Solberg played for the U20 Vålerenga club’s 2022-23 postseason and the EHL squad’s playoff run in 2023-24. The stats are below for those:
- 2022-23 postseason Vålerenga U20: one goal and one assist for two points in three games
- 2023-24 postseason Vålerenga (EHL): two goals and seven assists for nine points in 17 games
The 2024-25 season will be Solberg’s first in…
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