Carl Söderberg

[PedroSpecialK]

Pretty neat story in the Globe chronicling what's brought Söderberg to his current role as a contributing top-9er.
 

When Soderberg arrived in the United States, he didn’t talk much. He doesn’t talk much now, either. But then it was worse, the unhappiness drawing him away from teammates and potential friends, feeding his reservations.
 
He hadn’t listened to himself, hadn’t trusted his instincts, as the voices of others crowded out everything he knew he wanted. So there he was, 4,547 miles from his home in Malmo, silent and suffering.
 
It was September of 2006, he was 20, and training camps had just opened across the NHL. Soderberg had come to join the Blues, having been drafted two years prior. It was time to start his North American hockey career. But, he said, his heart wasn’t in it.
 
“I was too young,” Soderberg said this week. “I wasn’t ready for it at that point. I should wait maybe one, two years more.
 
“From the first day I came over I wanted to go home. So I didn’t give it a shot. Now afterwards I can say that, but at that point I wasn’t ready. I was young. I wanted to go home. I was just thinking about going home, not playing hockey. And I learned a lesson, to never listen to what others think — do what yourself wants to do. Otherwise it doesn’t work.”

 

“We did a lot of research into the eye injury,” Chiarelli said. “They’re tremendous athletes and they end up kind of synching up their vision. So we knew that was recoverable. We didn’t know if he would recover from that, but we knew that was recoverable.”
 
It took the better part of a year for Soderberg to return to the ice, and multiple seasons after that to regain his game and his strength, after coming back out of shape and out of practice, but he adapted to his new reality. With his sight greatly diminished in the eye, he had to figure out ways to compensate, further delaying his readiness to play in the NHL.
 
But he worked and he developed and, as he did, he noticed things he didn’t notice before.
 
“You start to – you can feel if someone is there,” Soderberg said. “You don’t see them, but you can feel someone is coming. Other senses become better. You hear better. I’m pretty sure I can feel a lot better than other guys because I have to.”

 

He no longer feels out of place, no longer like a rookie. He is more secure every day – in his English, in his place in the NHL, in his decisions seven years ago. So, even as he starts over at 28, Soderberg isn’t worried about what he’s missed. He appreciated his time at home, in Malmo. He appreciated taking the slow road, developing at his pace, making sure he was ready. And now, here he is, finally in Boston.
 
“I don’t regret anything in my career or my life,” he said. “Everything that happened to this point is part of my life, and has made me into the person I am and the player I am. I’m really satisfied with it.”

 
The B's are lucky to have him for a ~$1m AAV this year and next.

 

[IdiotKicker]

There was a stretch in mid-November when I thought he put together 5-6 games where he was really, really solid.  Haven't quite seen it from him since then, but I think he has the potential to be a very solid 40-50 point scorer for this team going forward.  Not going to be an all-star, but much better than I thought based on what I saw in the playoffs last year, admittedly with very little preparation.

 

[AgentOrange]

That was a really nice piece by Amalie.

There was a stretch in mid-November when I thought he put together 5-6 games where he was really, really solid.  Haven't quite seen it from him since then, but I think he has the potential to be a very solid 40-50 point scorer for this team going forward..

He's actually been really solid all year. And forget potential, he's on a 48 point pace right now. Had the same amount of points as Bergeron in fact until that empty-netter Patrice scored a minute ago.

 

[IdiotKicker]

He's actually been really solid all year. And forget potential, he's on a 48 point pace right now. Had the same amount of points as Bergeron in fact until that empty-netter Patrice scored a minute ago.

 
Yeah, I see this year as pretty much being what you're going to get from him.  Maybe it's his age, but I don't think he's going to be the type of guy who improves to a 60-70 point player, especially in the Bruins system.  Again, I think he's going to be a very valuable piece of this team going forward, but he's never going to be a first-line guy.

 

[cshea]

Bumping this as we're almost a calendar year into the Soderberg era. So far, so good. He's come along really nicely since moving to center, and is looking very comfortable there. 4g, 9a in his last 15 games as a center. He looks fantastic, and has developed some chemistry with Eriksson and Kelly. Big strong skater, and he has no problems getting to the high traffic areas, especially the front of the net. I'm also surprised at his playmaking ability. Much better passer than I thought, which is somewhat remarkable with the blind eye.

 

[Granite Sox]

He's been playing like a Power Center... he really bangs around effectively.  In addition to allowing Eriksson some space, this has freed up Kelly a bit to play well at even strength and (as needed) on the PK.
 
I am pro-Yeti.

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

The original Toivonen for Soderberg trade thread is a fun read given everything that has happened with the organization since then.
 
There was a flash or two of this player in the finals, in particular one eye-popping play where he made like he was carrying the puck around the net before dropping a blind backhand pass right on the tape of Seguin's stick (couldn't bury it of course). IIRC he made a very similar play about a week ago leading to a Kelly goal.
 
The Swedish flair is great but I love seeing how much time he spends working hard behind the net to cycle the puck/keep possession and in front of the net to set screens and score dirty goals. His work leading to the Bergy goal last night was phenomenal.
 
It's a bit silly to get so far ahead of things when he's signed through next season at one of the best bargain prices in hockey, but I'm hopeful they'll be able to hang on to him for a reasonable price. Maybe whatever loyalty/comfort/etc led to him staying in Sweden for so long will have transferred to Boston. I know it's still a fairly small sample but I love the combo of size and skill at the 3C position. It's so much better for this team than Kelly as a homeless deaf dumb and blind man's Bergeron or Spooner who just isn't strong enough yet.

 

[TFP]

The original Toivonen for Soderberg trade thread is a fun read given everything that has happened with the organization since then.

 
My word was that a fun thread to read. How things have changed. Just goes to show, nobody knows anything.

 

[FL4WL3SS]

Except Realness.

 

[FL4WL3SS]

Toivonen played 11 games for the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL last season.
 
I think we won this deal.

 

[smastroyin]

Toivonen played 11 games for the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL last season.
 
I think we won this deal.

 
Not to mention that keeping Thomas proved to work out pretty well.

 

[TSC]

 
My word was that a fun thread to read. How things have changed. Just goes to show, nobody knows anything.

 
I especially liked PSK advocating trading Thomas for a 5th or 6th rounder, and letting Hannu back up Manny Fernandez.
 
Oh my.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

 
My word was that a fun thread to read. How things have changed. Just goes to show, nobody knows anything.

 
Man, I was pissed about the Mara for Ward deal. I have no recollection of writing those words.
 
Hannu was a "guaranteed top-15 goalie" in the league, according to us. Yikes. What the hell happened to him anyway? At one point he was a legit prospect. I saw him play a few times, with that terrible Sullvan-coached Bruins team in front of him in Sullivan's last year here, and he played well. So odd that he fell off the face of the earth.
 
Interesting to see how much the worm has turned on Chia.

 

[Ed Hillel]

Except Realness.

 
And Imgran!

 

[TheRealness]

Except Realness.

I was also advocating for Kevin Regan as a viable goaltending prospect. Desperate times.

 

[PedroSpecialK]

 
I especially liked PSK advocating trading Thomas for a 5th or 6th rounder, and letting Hannu back up Manny Fernandez.
 
Oh my.

I stand by it.

They would've drafted Jamie Benn with that 5th :colbert:

 

[TheRealness]

I was never a fan of Toivonen. He had this way is making himself smaller when he butterflied, leaving the top third of the net wide open. He's currently playing in Toledo for the Walleye of the ECHL, and he's still terrible. 
 
Soderberg at Center has been a revelation though. He's been fine defensively, as was his reputation in Sweden, while providing significant offensive punch there that Kelly simply cannot. The Bruins are set up extremely well for a long playoff run. I don't think anyone in the East, including Pittsburgh, can match up with their forward depth. 

 

[FL4WL3SS]

I don't think anyone in the East, including Pittsburgh, can match up with their forward depth.

I mean, yeah. That's been their M.O. for years now - the difference is that this year they actually have a PP to go along with their dominant 5 on 5 play.

The Bruins just don't really have a weakness this year.

 

[kenneycb]

I mean, yeah. That's been their M.O. for years now - the difference is that this year they actually have a PP to go along with their dominant 5 on 5 play.

The Bruins just don't really have a weakness this year.

Well until one of their forwards gets hurt.  They have strong depth in their top 12 but virtually nothing waiting in the wings outside a pretty positionally limited Spooner (only center, only top 9 role) and a pretty crappy winger in Caron.

 

[FL4WL3SS]

Well until one of their forwards gets hurt.  They have strong depth in their top 12 but virtually nothing waiting in the wings outside a pretty positionally limited Spooner (only center, only top 9 role) and a pretty crappy winger in Caron.

Of course, every other team is saying the same thing. The Bruins are better able to absorb it because they have guys playing on the 3rd line that can bump up if necessary. They can shorten their bench like other teams do.

Also, I don't agree, I think they have a few guys that could step up from Providence. Spooner and Koko could step into top 9 roles, guys like Caron/Johnson/Cunningham could fill in on the 4th line if we needed to bump someone up.

 

[erfus]

Of course, every other team is saying the same thing. The Bruins are better able to absorb it because they have guys playing on the 3rd line that can bump up if necessary. They can shorten their bench like other teams do.

Also, I don't agree, I think they have a few guys that could step up from Providence. Spooner and Koko could step into top 9 roles, guys like Caron/Johnson/Cunningham could fill in on the 4th line if we needed to bump someone up.

 
I don't think Spooner or Koko could step in as a wing in a top 9 NHL role during the playoffs without getting killed.  At that point we're probably bumping up Paille and everyone else a notch (which is fine) and/or using Florek.  Koko is on fire though, I do wonder if he gets a cup of coffee this month when the inevitable (hopefully minor) injury comes along.
 
Soderberg may have the most team-friendly contract in hockey if he keeps this up.  I do wonder if they'll manage to keep him long term given the other UFAs and RFAs coming up in the next year or 2 and the center depth in Providence.  Something will have to give (or be traded).  A nice problem to have this summer.