Red Wings 6-foot-8 Prospect Elmer Soderblom SHL’s No. 1 U-21 Scorer

Six-foot-eight Detroit Red Wings prospect Elmer Soderblom is getting people to notice him for more than his height. With 12 goals in 33 games for Frolunda, Soderblom is the highest-scoring player age 21-and-under in the Swedish Hockey League.

“All of these things with coordination are coming together,” TSN draft analyst Craig Button said. “His skating is better. He’s a little bit quicker. He’s a little bit stronger. So that makes him even more imposing.”

The Red Wings drafted Elmer Soderblom in the sixth round, at No. 159, in 2019. But today he is considered one of their more intriguing forward prospects

Button remembers watching Soderblom at age 15 and 16 and it was difficult to project what he would be like because his body and coordination were out of sync. “He was like Bambi out there,” Button.

Soderblom has always had good hands and a good head for the game. Everyone was talking about his between the legs goal at the World Junior Championships in 2020.

Nifty hands from Elmer Soderblom to extend Sweden's lead 👀 pic.twitter.com/ZtoBEiZCzX

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 26, 2020

“Elmer has progressed,”  Button said. “I’ve watched him since he was 15.”

More Finesse Than Physical

“He is not going to physically overpower you, but he doesn’t get pushed away and his reach is significant,” Button said. “…He is so smart around the net. Teams defend fierce in that area. He understands how to be able how to use his reach and hands. But he’s not one of those guys who is a reacher. He gets out there and uses his body and then uses his hands to give himself an advantage. That’s a skill. He’s legitimate.”

Soderblom’s nickname is The Mailman, presumably because he delivers.

“Big presence down low,” said Russ Cohen who does NHL draft analysis for Sportsology and Sirius radio. “Great hands. He’s a wiz on the power play.”

Added Button: “He’s not a rush player. He’s an in-tight, around the net, power play, player.”

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Would guess the Red Wings would want Soderblom to come over next season to play in Grand Rapids, like Jonatan Berggren did this season.

Soderblom comes from an athletic family.

Elmer’s brother Arvid Soderblom is a goalie who played a couple of games for the Chicago Blackhawks when they were overrun by COVID-19 earlier this month. Arvid made 37 saves in a losing effort against the Calgary Flames. His younger sister Vera is a prominent basketball player. His dad, Martin, had a lengthy career playing hockey in Sweden’s minor leagues.

Sweden has its own version of the “Survivor” Television show. It’s called “Expedition Robinson.” Soderblom’s mother, Susanne, was a participant in 1998.