By Ted Ryan

This summer, University of Vermont men's hockey junior forward Viktor Stalberg returned to the fairways after several years away from competitive golf.

"I played a lot when I was younger. I played in tournaments but about 14, hockey took over," said the native of Gothenburg, Sweden's second largest city.

A 5-handicapper who especially likes touring Vermont National Country Club, Stalberg said of his game, "Pretty far on the drive; not so accurate around the green."

In some respects, Stalberg's on-course performance resembles his on-ice game: Plenty of power but the finesse could use some honing.

For two years, Stalberg has been a tantalizing blend of performance and promise for the Catamounts and now he may be poised for a breakout season, the kind UVM desperately needs for its anemic offense.

Stalberg has all the physical tools to become one of the elite players in Hockey East: Size at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds; incredible speed; sharp game vision; gifted hands; and a fierce desire to improve.

In two seasons, he has accumulated 17 goals and 38 points, playing in all 78 possible games. His 10 goals last year were a team high, matched by Peter Lenes and Brayden Irwin, and helped earn him a Hockey East honorable mention citation.

This year? Listen to the words of head coach Kevin Sneddon:

"If we're doing our job right and explaining what we want from him, he's a player who will be a factor every game whether he scores, whether he doesn't score ... whether it's driving the net hard, whether it's domination on the power play down low, whether it's forechecking and using his speed."

Sneddon pointed to one six-game stretch last year during which the one common question of opposing coaches was, "Where did Stalberg come from?" according to Sneddon.

"He was the best player on the ice and people should be saying that from start to finish this year," Sneddon said.

Irwin, a junior center who is Stalberg's roommate and frequent linemate, thinks his buddy is ready to become a consistent force.

"He's got everything it takes to be that kind of player. He's got size, good speed, good hands, good shot," said Irwin, who conceded consistency is "something a lot of us struggle with, is playing the way we want to play night in, night out.

"If he can do that, there's no reason why he can't take it to the next level."

Stalberg, who had to adjust to the more physical North American style without the year of junior hockey many Europeans play, has no doubts about the need for him to emerge as a top scorer, nor in his ability to do it.

"There is no question in my mind I need to have that for my own good and for the team's good," said Stalberg, a 2006 NHL sixth-round draft selection of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"I feel like I kind of shouldered it the last half of last season and think definitely I have the potential to do it this year and I want to make it happen," he said.

With a harden body built by spending time at UVM this summer, Stalberg should no longer be as easy to bump off the puck on rushes or down low. Still, consistency is the most crucial asset Stalberg needs to develop.

"That's probably my main goal, to stay more consistent throughout the year. The physical game kind of wears you out more and there's no hiding I struggled my first two years to keep that consistent level," he said, "but hopefully as I get older and a little more mature and know how to play the game ... you end up (at a) consistent level more this year."

Off the ice, according to Irwin, Stalberg is "a good guy."

"I live with him and he keeps the place nice and neat," said Irwin of the two-time Hockey East all-academic selection.

"I've got to say, he's the most fun person to beat in video games because he takes it so seriously," said Irwin, who added that Stalberg, when defeated, keeps coming back "until he wins and if you can keep him on a losing streak, there's nothing better."

Now, Irwin and the rest of the Catamounts are looking forward to Stalberg beating rival defensemen and goalies with regularity and possibly becoming only the second UVM player to score 20 goals (Scott Mifsud with 21 in 2004-05) since the 1996-97 season, the last year Vermont competed in the NCAA Division I tournament.