EDMONTON, Alberta — Blackhawks goalie Arvid Soderblom entered this season needing to change his career trajectory and change it quickly.
His first start of the season Friday against the Jets offered an encouraging sign he'll be able to succeed in doing so.
Although his final stat line wasn't as eye-popping as it could have been if he had completed his first career shutout — which he came within two minutes of achieving — he still saved 33 of 35 shots and was probably the Hawks' best player in the game. His .943 save percentage tied for his sixth-best in 45 career starts.
"He played unreal," Seth Jones said. "[He] stood on his head all night, made big saves. [The Jets] were around the net a lot at times...and everything was hitting him, which was great to see."
The 25-year-old Swedish goalie looked like a completely different player than last season, when his .879 save percentage over 32 appearances ranked second-to-last in the NHL and his minus-23.0 GSAA ranked last.
On Friday, his rebound control — a much-discussed weakness last season — looked better, albeit not perfect. Meanwhile, his positioning and lateral movement — a less-discussed but arguably even more costly weakness last season — was impeccable.
He was square to almost every Jets shot, taking advantage of one of the advantages he has always had: his size. Even when he did spit out rebounds, he moved swiftly to get square to the follow-up attempts, making them less dangerous.
Soderblom only started Friday because the Hawks wanted Petr Mrazek to face the Oilers on Saturday and because newly signed backup Laurent Brossoit is still recovering from his late-summer meniscus surgery. Brossoit is expected to return soon, so Soderblom's NHL clock is ticking; he'll have to continue his career turnaround in the AHL.
He nonetheless sent a clear message to Hawks management not to give up on his future yet, not that they had.
Once Soderblom arrives in Rockford, whose season began Saturday against Grand Rapids, he'll join an AHL roster loaded with NHL-relevant prospects — including his goalie partner, Drew Commesso, and plenty more.
Aside from Kevin Korchinski and Frank Nazar, who should be two of the most talented (and heavily scrutinized) players in all of the minor leagues this fall, the IceHogs also have Colton Dach, Landon Slaggert, Paul Ludwinski, Samuel Savoie and Gavin Hayes — and the final three guys in that list are getting their first tastes of pro hockey.
On defense, Ethan Del Mastro headlines Rockford's group for now, but Artyom Levshunov's return from injury in a few weeks will make him the main attraction on the entire roster. He'll surpass even Korchinski and Nazar in terms of both talent and scrutiny.
"There's going to be a lot of intrigue there," general manager Kyle Davidson said. "But [with] that youthful enthusiasm, I think they can have a pretty good team."
Wyatt Kaiser returned to the Hawks' lineup Friday, meaning his training-camp health scare ultimately only cost him one regular-season game. He logged 15:01 of ice time.
Connor Bedard's first matchup against 2024 No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini will have to wait. The Sharks placed Celebrini — who scored in his NHL debut this week — on injured reserve, meaning he'll miss the Hawks' home opener Thursday. The Hawks will visit San Jose on Halloween.
