RD Victor Soderstrom (2019, 11th, ARZ)

[thefutures]

So hes starting with the Coyotes?

 

[XX]

So hes starting with the Coyotes?

Seems to be the plan.

 

[thefutures]

Seems to be the plan.

Wow thats awesome. Hopefully the kid sticks.

 

[ijuka]

Really, he made the team? Wow. Impressive. I guess he was considered a pretty pro-ready player but didn't see this coming. Hopefully the offensive upside concerns also are unfounded. Cool seeing players such as this finding some success.

 

[RABBIT]

Really, he made the team? Wow. Impressive. I guess he was considered a pretty pro-ready player but didn't see this coming. Hopefully the offensive upside concerns also are unfounded. Cool seeing players such as this finding some success.

he's arguably been the best D on our team this preseason. I don't think he'll stay the full season.

 

[XX]

Really, he made the team? Wow. Impressive. I guess he was considered a pretty pro-ready player but didn't see this coming. Hopefully the offensive upside concerns also are unfounded. Cool seeing players such as this finding some success.

His offense is much better than advertised. Just a really efficient shooter from the point, nothing flashy. Also already pretty damn good at keeping it in the zone. There's no panic in his game.

Soderstrom's biggest hurdle will probably be his most likely partner which will be Goligoski. They did... not play well together in the preseason. Goligoski's play has fallen off a cliff and he was chasing all over the ice.

 

[Hostile Offer]

I liked this pick for Arizona from the get go (thought Van would take him). Didn't expect him to make the team this year though, really impressive.

 

[Dr Quincy]

I think ARI is still trying to figure out where he best fits. They'll give him a couple games and then decide. A year in the AHL or SHL wouldn't be a horrible thing, but if he forces their hand, he forces their hand.

 

[Hogan20]

Back to Sweden.

 

[XX]

Surprised he didn't get some games.

 

[Plub]

Very surprising. Though I understand there is also zero reason to rush him.

 

[helax]

Back to Sweden.

 

[rt]

He had a really great rookie camp and tournament and a really great NHL camp and pre-season. Brynas is responsible for this. They got him this far. He looks to be a really great prospect and I’m glad Brynas will have more time with him, to continue to develop him further.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Why would you waste the beginning of his SHL season if he’s not starting in the NHL?

 

[rt]

Why would you waste the beginning of his SHL season if he’s not starting in the NHL?

He very nearly made the team. You don’t think there’s value in gutting out an entire NHL camp and coming up just short of a spot? That represents a tremendous amount of exposure, experience and context for him to keep in his mind as he develops this season. He got to see what it takes and get know how close he is and what he needs to work on.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He very nearly made the team. You don’t think there’s value in gutting out an entire NHL camp and coming up just short of a spot? That represents a tremendous amount of exposure, experience and context for him to keep in his mind as he develops this season. He got to see what it takes and get know how close he is and what he needs to work on.

Did he ever have a chance to make the team or was it to parade him around to excite their fan base? If he was so close to making the team, why not have him start in the AHL and he'll be the first call up when a defensemen is needed?

I don't think he ever had a chance to make the team. Chayka makes a lot of weird decisions with the prospects in his organization. I remember a year back to Hayton. I also remember some strange decisions with players such as Chychrun and Crouse in years prior, as well.

 

[rt]

Did he ever have a chance to make the team or was it to parade him around to excite their fan base? If he was so close to making the team, why not have him start in the AHL and he'll be the first call up when a defensemen is needed?

I don't think he ever had a chance to make the team. Chayka makes a lot of weird decisions with the prospects in his organization. I remember a year back to Hayton. I also remember some strange decisions with players such as Chychrun and Crouse in years prior, as well.

I really don’t understand your question. Of course he had a chance to make the team. Chayka has said all along they’ll do what’s best for Soderstrom’s development and his comfort level is extremely important. Chayka has publicly recognized that his being a teenager in a foreign land, in the minors may or may not ultimately be the best thing for him.

The team has been very open about the fact that Soderstrom and his family will have a vote. When it became clear that he wouldn’t make the NHL squad, team Soderstrom opted for the Swedish league. Which is a smart and good option. Everyone is happy.

Hayton? He got a head/neck injury in preseason. They kept him around the NHL medical staff until he felt better, rather than the OHL staff. Do you believe the Soo Hounds can provide better care than the Phoenix Coyotes?

Chychrun? They wanted to send him back. They didn’t plan on him making the team. He blew the f***ing doors off and they didn’t have a choice. He was an absolute revelation until he got hurt. There wasn’t a team in the NHL that would have cut a kid who played that well. That’s 100% on Chychrun. He was just too good to cut.

I’m not sure what about these situations is mystifying to you. It seems pretty straightforward to me.

Soderstrom almost made it. He played great but got cut. The joint decision was going home would be better for the kid than the minors. Win-win.

Hayton got hurt. He got an NHL medical staff to care for him before he got sent back down to juniors. Clearly the best option. No doubt.

Chychrun simply made the team. They couldn’t cut him. He was too good. Simple as that.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I really don’t understand your question. Of course he had a chance to make the team. Chayka has said all along they’ll do what’s best for Soderstrom’s development and his comfort level is extremely important. Chayka has publicly recognized that his being a teenager in a foreign land, in the minors may or may not ultimately be the best thing for him.

The team has been very open about the fact that Soderstrom and his family will have a vote. When it became clear that he wouldn’t make the NHL squad, team Soderstrom opted for the Swedish league. Which is a smart and good option. Everyone is happy.

Hayton? He got a head/neck injury in preseason. They kept him around the NHL medical staff until he felt better, rather than the OHL staff. Do you believe the Soo Hounds can provide better care than the Phoenix Coyotes?

Chychrun? They wanted to send him back. They didn’t plan on him making the team. He blew the ****ing doors off and they didn’t have a choice. He was an absolute revelation until he got hurt. There wasn’t a team in the NHL that would have cut a kid who played that well. That’s 100% on Chychrun. He was just too good to cut.

I’m not sure what about these situations is mystifying to you. It seems pretty straightforward to me.

Soderstrom almost made it. He played great but got cut. The joint decision was going home would be better for the kid than the minors. Win-win.

Hayton got hurt. He got an NHL medical staff to care for him before he got sent back down to juniors. Clearly the best option. No doubt.

Chychrun simply made the team. They couldn’t cut him. He was too good. Simple as that.

I appreciate the explanation of excuses, but it doesn’t change my point. It’s not a very trustworthy organization when it comes to the development of prospects. There was also that draft combine interview saga. They make a lot of eccentric decisions on the prospect front.

I wouldn’t be convinced that Soderstrom was there to seriously compete for a spot as opposed to being paraded around. And they wouldn’t be the first team to do that either. Other teams do that and I don’t like it, regardless of which team does it.

 

[XX]

I appreciate the explanation of excuses, but it doesn’t change my point. It’s not a very trustworthy organization when it comes to the development of prospects. There was also that draft combine interview saga. They make a lot of eccentric decisions on the prospect front.

Focusing on the personality that goes with the player is paying pretty early dividends. There's nothing eccentric about it.

I wouldn’t be convinced that Soderstrom was there to seriously compete for a spot as opposed to being paraded around.

It's clear you don't care about reasoning and are just going to believe what you want to believe. There's no discussion here on your part. Pretty weird attitude to have on a forum.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Focusing on the personality that goes with the player is paying pretty early dividends. There's nothing eccentric about it.



It's clear you don't care about reasoning and are just going to believe what you want to believe. There's no discussion here on your part. Pretty weird attitude to have on a forum.

It doesn’t work like that. I was presented with your management’s public talking points. We don’t know, as fans, what the truth is. We are all entitled to our opinion of what the truth is. I don’t tend to believe everything that comes out of an NHL front office, you might. What’s the problem? Am I not allowed to question the situation if I don’t believe it’s as presented to us? I think they wanted to parade him around and he never had a chance to make the team. The team this is about makes me believe even more that it’s the case.

 

[XX]

I think they wanted to parade him around and he never had a chance to make the team.

There's no evidence to support this and you haven't provided anything remotely approaching a convincing argument otherwise. rt gave you a rundown of the reasoning behind each decision, all of which are accepted canon on the Coyotes board after much discussion, yet you think your hot take is some sort of revelation.

They praised Soderstrom at every turn and his play was easily good enough to make the team in a bottom pairing role. That's not his projected role or what's best for his development now, so they agreed to his wishes to go back to Brynas. The player dictates where he goes, not the team, because the Coyotes (per Chayka in a recent interview) value buy-in more than anything else. There's also the small problem of Goligoski being his likely partner if he makes it this year, and that did not go well in the preseason because Goligoski's play is pretty poor. Playing him with someone more stable like Hjalmarsson would mean exposing him to too much, too early. Brynas is a better place to develop than Tucson for an 18 year old euro. Pretty open and shut case.

But no, it can't be a combination of reasonable factors. Chayka is weird, the Coyotes are garbage. It must be that.

To me, the weirdo is the guy that insists a just drafted player that was good enough to be the absolute last cut in camp somehow didn't earn any of it based on nothing but an inherent dislike for the organization and/or GM.

 

[57special]

wise decision by ARI.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

There's no evidence to support this and you haven't provided anything remotely approaching a convincing argument otherwise. rt gave you a rundown of the reasoning behind each decision, all of which are accepted canon on the Coyotes board after much discussion, yet you think your hot take is some sort of revelation.

They praised Soderstrom at every turn and his play was easily good enough to make the team in a bottom pairing role. That's not his projected role or what's best for his development now, so they agreed to his wishes to go back to Brynas. The player dictates where he goes, not the team, because the Coyotes (per Chayka in a recent interview) value buy-in more than anything else. There's also the small problem of Goligoski being his likely partner if he makes it this year, and that did not go well in the preseason because Goligoski's play is pretty poor. Playing him with someone more stable like Hjalmarsson would mean exposing him to too much, too early. Brynas is a better place to develop than Tucson for an 18 year old euro. Pretty open and shut case.

But no, it can't be a combination of reasonable factors. Chayka is weird, the Coyotes are garbage. It must be that.

To me, the weirdo is the guy that insists a just drafted player that was good enough to be the absolute last cut in camp somehow didn't earn any of it based on nothing but an inherent dislike for the organization and/or GM.

You are placing words in my mouth that I didn’t use. If you want to disagree, go ahead. I didn’t force my opinion on you. You are trying to force yours upon me and now trying to mislead about what my opinion is. Please do not distort my opinion to help yours. That’s dishonest.

 

[rt]

@Pavel Buchnevich Soferstrom’s performance made it clear he had a shot. He was extremely good.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

@Pavel Buchnevich Soferstrom’s performance made it clear he had a shot. He was extremely good.

I’m sure he played well. I never claimed he isn’t good or didn’t play well, like the guy above tried to assert.

Most 11th overall picks do not come in with a chance to make the team, and if they are an AHL-eligible player who ends up being very close to making the team, I suspect they’d be playing in the AHL.

If he was actually close to making the team and was the next player in on defense, you start him in the AHL and he’ll be called up within a month when the team inevitably needs a defensemen. He’d probably see a lot of games, as well, for the NHL team.

If what you are weighing with where you play him this season is where the kid feels comfortable, it’s probably not mainly a sporting decision and he probably didn’t have a real chance to make the team. I’ve not heard of very many situations where an NHL team is asking a player who they expect to play for them during a season if that player wants to play for them or if they’d feel more comfortable playing in Europe. Usually the team would make a unilateral decision there. That’s if the player was within the circle of players the team plans to use during the course of a season. As I said, I don’t think he had much of a chance to play for the NHL team this season.