Victor Söderström Is Entering a Make-Or-Break Season

In the 2019 NHL draft, John Chayka and the Coyotes made the surprising move to trade up to the 11th overall pick and draft the Swedish-born defenseman giving up the 14th and 45th picks in the same draft. Pre-draft scouting reports had Söderström as a good two-way defenseman with excellent skating and the potential to run a power play someday. With a new regime in place, his position in the team’s future is far from certain.

Söderström’s time in the SHL

Victor’s time in the SHL was largely successful, with his draft year putting up four goals, three assists for seven points, and holding his own in a league that is very punishing on young players, so to play that well as a 17/18-year-old was outstanding and largely led to him being considered a lottery pick lock going into the 2019 draft. Söderström showed poise, excellent skating, and offensive flashes that excited many pre-draft. After the Coyotes took him, his next season, he seemed to reach another level offensively, putting up five goals and 11 assists in 35 games and added a goal and five assists in seven games with the Swedish world junior squad. After the NHLs pause due to the Covid outbreak, Victor would join the Coyotes in the bubble round, not playing any games but partaking in practice and film sessions. After this season, he would go on to play 12 games in the HockeyAllsvenskan while NA hockey was on hold due to Covidfor AIK putting up a goal and five assists in that time. Victor would then make the move to North America after that.

Time with Tucson

After excelling overseas, Söderström would then come to NA, making his debut with the Roadrunners, where he would look solid if unspectacular putting up two goals and eight assists in 32 games. Not taking that offensive leap that was hoped, he would still show signs of great skating and solid two-way play that showed a solid future in the NHL. On that note, Victor would make his NHL debut this year, playing four games for the NHL club, putting up one goal and one assist while playing limited and sheltered minutes. The next couple of years saw Victor split time between the AHL and NHL club, putting up solid numbers in the AHL but never really being able to seize hold of that NHL job.

Upcoming season

With the new regime having had a couple of seasons to take a look at him and a couple of drafts now to add talent to the prospect pool, Söderström now stands in a very similar position to the one Barrett Hayton found himself in last year. After a slow start, Hayton seized control of the opportunity presented and maintained his spot in the future. It’s now Victor’s time to do the same. With the additions of Matt Dumba and Sean Durzi, along with the draft selections made by GM Bill Armstrong over the last couple of drafts, Söderström finds himself about to be pushed out of a spot in the team’s future. That being said, with Dumbas deal only for one season, Söderström still has a chance to cement his spot on the team and show that Chayka’s faith in him was well placed, and that starts with training camp. The Swedish rearguard has an uphill battle to make the team, and a strong camp and preseason would go a long way towards solidifying a spot on the pro club. Even if he starts the year in Tucson, Söderström needs to show he doesn’t belong in the AHL and be the first call-up for the team defensively. He is in danger of being passed up by recent picks of GMBA, including Artyum Duda and Jeremy Langlois, who play the same type of role that Söderström might be looking at, as well as the Coyotes having plenty of draft capital to make more additions there. Söderström needs to follow Haytons lead, show why the team took him where they did, and cast all doubt about his future aside.