The Athletic’s Max Bultman offers “6 Thoughts” regarding the Red Wings’ prospect tournament play in Traverse City. Among them:
The Red Wings’ best player over the weekend was probably Elmer Söderblom. And he should have been. At a tournament composed mainly of players looking to make the NHL — and many of those knowing they won’t have a real chance for a couple years — Söderblom has already played in the world’s best league. You wanted to see him look like a man against boys, and he did. So that’s a good sign for him heading into camp — he seems ready to go.
Two things in particular stood out to me. The first was that while Söderblom’s length has always been obvious, I felt like I saw him using it more to extend possessions at this tournament. He was swatting pucks out of the air, and just generally disrupting exit attempts in a way that earned the Red Wings extra time with the puck in the attacking end. That’s great to see, and it’s something he can use to separate himself if he can carry it over into the preseason.
The second was I want to see him use his weapon of a shot more. His hands are the reason he’s become such a tantalizing prospect at 6-foot-8, but that body also equates to a rocket of a shot when he gets his weight behind it, and I was encouraged to see him utilize that shot a few times at this tournament. I still want to see it more though, especially in stride on the rush. Obviously, his sublime puckhandling will continue to be a huge part of his game, but his shot stands out as a tool that can help him really maximize his potential.
Continued; Soderblom definitely looks more comfortable using his tremendous puck-handling skills to create time and space for himself, but his shot seems to be a work in progress. He likes to defer to others via passes on the rush, and worry about shooting closer to the net, but I’d imagine that he’s got a great slapper as well as strong one-timer and wrist shots.
