I think I told you guys the story about when Viktor Stalberg was skating with most of the Rangers players the week before camp. I asked him if he was as fast as Carl Hagelin. I chuckled. He didn’t smile at all. He said he’s not sure if he is or not.
Turns out, he’s probably not, but he’s darn close. Stalberg was brought in for his wheels, and to provide some of the stuff Hagelin did before he was traded — whatever you think of the trade. He’s not Hagelin.
That said, I thought by the second half of the season, Stalberg had become an important piece for the Rangers, who desperately needed his wheels, and who needed somebody to get in on the forecheck, as it turned out, on the fourth line.