Soderblom Closes the Deal on Griffins’ Win

Elmer Soderblom continues to raise his offensive profile as he added the empty-net insurance goal in  the Grand Rapids Griffins’ 4-2 win against the Cleveland Monsters.

The Griffins lead the AHL’s Central Division by three points over the Texas Stars.

Soderblom has three goals and three assists for six points over the past five games.  He has put up five goals and 12 points over his past 17 games. The 6-foot-8 Soderblom started this season with two points in his first 13 games. The Swedish left wing has only had one minus game in his past 10 games.

With Soderblom’s increased offense production comes wonder whether he might be able to earn his way back to the Red Wings if the team has injuries. Soderblom, 23, played 21 games for the Red Wings in 2022-23, but spent all of last season and the first half of this season in Grand Rapids.

🚨SODERBLOM!!!🚨

Elmer seals the game with an empty net goal!#GoGRG #LGRW pic.twitter.com/4eTiIZKL6S

— Hockeytown West Podcast (@HockeytownWpod) January 19, 2025

The Griffins’ next game will be a road contest against the Manitoba Moose on Thursday.  On Saturday, the Red Wings sent goalie Ville Husso back to the Griffins, giving them a third goalie to work into their mix.

Other prospect contributions to the Grand Rapids win:

Six-foot-five defenseman Antti Tuomisto registered his third multiple-point game. He had two assists against Cleveland. The highly competitive Tuomisto is another player showing he might have a shot to make the NHL.

Left wing Alex Doucet assisted on Tim Gettinger’s goal to give him three points over the last two games.

Goalie Sebastian Cossa made 24 saves while improving his goals-against average to 2.31.