The Detroit Red Wings announced a bit of a roster shakeup on Friday as they made some changes regarding Swedish rookie Elmer Söderblom. The Red Wings opted to activate Söderblom and reassigned him to the Grand Rapids Griffins.
After joining the Detroit Red Wings roster, the 6-foot-8 forward has handled himself immensely well. He made the jump from the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) to the National Hockey League (NHL) after breaking camp with the team.
While the Red Wings stated this is not a conditioning loan, Söderblom’s reassignment should not be the most shocking. He has been on the Injured Reserve (IR) since November 8th after sustaining an injury against the Montreal Canadiens.
According to Derek Lalonde, the injury was supposedly caused by blocking a shot. He sustained a lower-body injury and wound up not playing another game during November. So some conditioning will be in order as he gets back up to speed with the Griffins.
Detroit Red Wings assign Elmer Söderblom to Grand Rapids Griffins.
Söderblom got his first taste of the NHL to start out the season, where he played in 13 games before sustaining the shot-blocking injury. He was able to capture his first two goals for his first two points of the 2022-23 season, and he also managed eight blocks, for what that’s worth.
Jokes aside, Söderblom being able to put his body on the line and get dirty is something the Red Wings should be happy about. The effort is great, but there are still some things that he can clean up.
Jumping from the SHL to the NHL, there’s going to be room for improvement. Beyond that, he’s 21 years old with a massive frame. He moves well for his size and has great hands. But at times, he’s a bit vulnerable with the puck.
Learning some more poise and being able to use his skills under pressure could help him. While he only has three recorded giveaways, he needs to make sure he makes the most of his size and skills with the puck.
For Söderblom, some time to develop and work on his skills will not be horrible. With Jonatan Berggren doing incredibly well in his stint with the Red Wings, there’s no reason to send him back down to the Griffins right now.
Sending Söderblom down may be viewed as a demotion, and very technically is, but he’s going to be served well getting time to hit the reset button, get back to 100% and further his development before returning to the Red Wings roster.