Blackhawks
“It’s the parts you use the most as a goalie,” he said. “So when I came back, it took some time to get full strength and full mobility back.”
He powered through the rest of the season (2.92 GAA and .905 save percentage) and had a 3-2 record in the Calder Cup playoffs (3.18 GAA and .895 save percentage).
The Hawks signed him to a two-year contract with a $962,500 salary-cap hit in early May.
Petr Mrázek, last season’s starting goalie, has a year left on his contract but has had recurring groin problems. Alex Stalock had a resurgent season but is an unrestricted free agent.
During Stalock’s season-ending interview in April, he sounded like the writing was on the wall regarding his possible return.
“That’s discussions you have with (general manager) Kyle (Davidson) and the front office, see where they’re at, see what changes they want to make, who they feel is ready to make a jump,” he said, referring to Söderblom and Jaxson Stauber. “Obviously we saw multiple goaltenders come up this year during injuries and they all played great and probably deserve a chance.”
IceHogs goalie coach Peter Aubry is a big fan of Söderblom and thinks he’s primed for a bigger role if he gets the call.
“We’ve seen his mental strength and being able to perform under various circumstances,” Aubry said, “where a
team in front of him is playing very well or very poorly; whether he’s had a tough night or a tough moment, he’s had to rebound; whether he’s had an injury or he’s had to play three games in three nights or four games in six nights.
“So he’s been in a wide range of situations and he’s been able to excel in all of those.”
Despite some struggles, Aubry said Söderblom has solid attributes.
“His technique is incredibly strong, a strong foundation,” he said. “The results you see from that are the consistency in his game play. Real well-balanced. He continues to improve his reads in the sense the game slows down in front of him.”
Söderblom said his strengths are his footwork and skating, adding: “A lot of Swedish guys have a great foundation. We do a lot of goalie training back home in Sweden.
“Pushing side by side in the crease, explosive pushes. Then I have the size too (at 6-foot-3), so I don’t have to be super aggressive. I can sometimes be a little bit deeper on the angles.
“I have good hands as well, good gloves. I like to catch the pucks, track them all the way into the gloves.”
Söderblom planned to keep the same offseason training regimen as years past: a two-week break before taking his girlfriend and his now 3-year-old son back to Sweden.
Trainer Eric Ganson will work him out along with the Swedish Hockey League team in his hometown of Gothenburg.
“We’ve been working together now ever since I started playing over here,” Söderblom said.