There’s no denying the fact that Blackhawks goalie Arvid Soderblom’s statistics are alarming.
His .872 save percentage ranks second-worst in the NHL among goalies with 10-plus appearances — ahead of only Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta, who was waived Saturday. His minus-12.8 GSAA (goals saved above average) is also second-worst, ahead of only Raanta. His 2-10-1 record partially reflects the awful team in front of him, but it’s ugly, too.
Hawks coach Luke Richardson has continued to insist he’s not worried about Soderblom’s confidence, however, citing the 24-year-old Swede’s calmness and composure.
And Soderblom himself isn’t worried, either.
“I just try to stay confident and focus on the things I can control,” Soderblom said. “Sometimes it’s not bouncing your way, but that’s going to happen. You can only be here now, be present and try to have fun. It’s just a game. I don’t know if that [mindset is] a strategy of mine, but it’s just how it works, basically.”
Many fans have called for him to be sent back to the AHL, where he has played very well in the past. But if he doesn’t need any confidence rehabilitation, a demotion would only be to work on his technical skills, and he believes the best place to get those back to NHL standards is in the NHL.
“I feel like it’s a different game [here],” Soderblom said. “The players here are so much more skilled. You get punished harder for mistakes, but at the same time, you’re learning from those mistakes. It’s where I want to be.”
The Hawks agree. They’ve given no thought to sending him down.
After all, they could have claimed Raanta on waivers if they wanted an experienced, familiar, warm body to pair with Petr Mrazek and provide the necessary depth to make a Soderblom demotion possible. It was telling that they didn’t.
On Saturday, Soderblom’s in-the-present approach meant he focused on what he called a particularly “great practice” — and that was good because he does need the practice. Mrazek started Sunday against the Canucks; the Hawks’ starter Tuesday against the Avalanche wasn’t yet known.
Soderblom has worked with goalie coach Jimmy Waite on moving his feet more quickly so he can get square to shots sooner.
Not being square was a major issue in his last start Thursday against the Kraken, which marked his fourth time allowing six-plus goals in just 32 career NHL games. Some of those goals were unlucky or unstoppable, but the last two — a slap shot that blew past him and a side-of-the-net tap for which he was woefully out of position — were unacceptable.
The idea is improvement in his squareness will translate into improvement with rebound control, which has been another recurring weakness. He has faced the 12th-most rebound attempts per minute in the league.
“That comes hand-in-hand,” he said. “When you’re not finding pucks and you’re late in position, that makes you have to fight to get that first save, and then maybe the rebound ends up in a bad position because you had to fight so hard to make the first save.
“But when you’re moving your feet and you’re in position, you’re going to see the puck, and that makes it easier to put it in a good space.”
Quotes like that show how much more comfortable Soderblom has gotten speaking English over the last three years, while defenseman Filip Roos’ recent promotion to the NHL has reunited Soderblom with one of his closest friends.
There are plenty of things going right. The crucial next step will be getting his on-ice performance finally going right, too.
NOTE: The Hawks’ injury woes worsened Monday, when they put forward Joey Anderson on injured reserve with a left shoulder issue.
