Via DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji on Twitter, Elite Prospects’ “EP Rinkside” website posted a profile of Red Wings prospect Elmer Soderblom, and the usually paywall-locked article by Christoffer Hedlund is available for your perusal:
Elmer Söderblom, of the 6-foot-7, 220-pound frame, was among the largest players to hear their name called at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft when the Detroit Red Wings drafted him 159th overall, in the sixth-round.
What Söderblom wasn’t is one of the draft’s most talked-about players, in spite of lurking in the Swedish junior circuits for the last handful of seasons. At the beginning of this year, that meant a plunge from the U18 to U20 SuperElit league in Frölunda’s system.
The Frölunda J20 SuperElit team didn’t offer Söderblom an offensive role, but the towering winger still contributed 17 points (nine goals and eight assists) in 44 regular-season games. In the playoffs, Söderblom kicked it up a notch, scoring four times in six contests.
Söderblom was one of several players on the J20-team that also played for Frölunda’s J18 team during the playoffs — that group had a substantial impact and helped Frölunda’s J18 team capture gold. After the club season, Söderblom joined the Swedish national team for the U18 World Championship, as they won the country’s first gold medal in tournament history, on home turf.
