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Is That Red Wings Prospect Elmer Soderblom . . . Or Bobby Orr?

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Elmer Soderblom, Detroit Red Wings prospect
Elmer Soderblom's first goal for the Swedish senior national team is being compared to Bobby Orr's famous Cup-winning tally.

Elmer Soderblom is gaining a reputation for scoring highlight-reel goals and the Detroit Red Wings prospect is at it yet again.

A “Dream goal by Elmer Soderblom” was how the headline on the Aftonbladet.se web page described Soderblom’s latest spectacular tally. It opened the scoring in the first period, proving to be the game winner in Sweden’s 2-0 over Finland in the Czech Hockey Games, a tournament prepping for the IIHF world championship.

Accepting a pass at the top of the right faceoff circle in the Finnish zone, Soderblom began making his morve. Firstly, he darted to the outside, eluding one Finnish checker. Secondly, he was cutting to the net parallel to the top of the goal crease. Soderblom split two more Finnish defenders with a strong move to the net. Finally, he utilized his lanky frame to deke around Finnish goaltender Juho Olkinoura.

The 6-foot-8, 249-pound winger finished off the brilliant play by slamming the puck into the gaping cage. Just as he did, he was sent airborne. His legs were flipped out from under him by the stick of a late-arriving Finnish player.

“I got a good pass from (Filip) Roos, had a lot of space and stepped in there in front of the goal,” Soderblom explained to Aftonbladet. “So it was nice.”

Yes it was.

Soderblom Tally Drawing Comparisons To Orr Goal

As a result, veteran hockey watchers were noting similarities between Soderblom’s latest marker and arguably the most famous goal in hockey history. It was almost 52 years ago on May 10, 1970 when Boston Bruins defenseman Bobby Orr was sent airborne in similar fashion. At the time, Orr was scoring the Stanley Cup-winning overtime goal against the St. Louis Blues.

“That’s artistry,” suggested 1987 Swedish world champion HÃ¥kan Södergren. He was working in the studio analyzing the game for Viasat. “It’s not often you see that kind of thing.”

However, it is becoming more commonplace when there’s Soderblom involvement in the play. People might remember him from the 2021 World Junior Tournament. There, Soderblom twice scored astonishing between the legs goals for Sweden.

Interestingly, both came off of passes from Lucas Raymond, Soderblom’s future Red Wings teammate. Expectations are that the Wings will be signing Soderblom, 20, when his Swedish season concludes. Detroit made him the 159th overall selection in the 2019 NHL entry draft. They’ll likely be bringing him to North America for next season.

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This season was his first full campaign in the SHL. Soderblom scored a team-leading 21 goals for Frolunda HC.