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Victor Söderström (ice hockey)

Victor Söderström (born 26 February 2001) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman for Brynäs IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).[1] Söderström was selected 11th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2019 NHL entry draft.

Playing career

Söderström joined Brynäs IF as a 14-year old, playing through their junior ranks before he was elevated from the J20 SuperElit and made his professional debut in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) at the age of 17 during the 2018–19 season on 18 October 2018. He was signed to his first professional contract by Brynäs, agreeing to a two-year deal through 2020 on 8 November 2018.[2]

On 21 June 2019, Söderström was selected by the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL), 11th overall in the 2019 NHL entry draft. The Coyotes traded up from the 14th overall with an additional second round pick to obtain the selection.[3] Söderström signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Coyotes on 7 July 2019.[4]

In the 2019–20 season, Söderström was assigned on loan by the Coyotes to continue his development with his Swedish club, Brynäs IF. He featured in 35 games from the blueline, reaching new career highs with five goals and 16 points in the regular season,[5] before the playoffs were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Söderström returned to the Coyotes organization and was added to the return-to-play roster. He remained with the club through the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs but did not play.[6]

With the 2020–21 North American season to be delayed, on 1 September 2020, Söderström returned to Sweden in joining second-tier club, AIK of the HockeyAllsvenskan, on loan until the commencement of the Coyotes 2020 training camp.[7] He made 12 appearances with AIK, registering six points, before leaving his loan stint in the Allsvenskan to join the Swedish World Junior team. Once the North American season returned, Söderström missed Arizona's training camp but was named to the Coyotes' taxi squad. He made his NHL debut on 22 January 2021 versus the Vegas Golden Knights.[8] Söderström scored his first NHL goal on 7 May 2021 against Josef Kořenář in a 5–2 win over the San Jose Sharks.[9] He also played for Arizona's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, scoring two goals and 10 points in 32 games.[10]

Söderström split the 2021–22 season between the Roadrunners and the Coyotes. He repeated the feat during the 2022–23 season, but got into 30 games with the Coyotes registering nine points.[10] He was assigned to Tucson to start the 2023–24 season.[11] He was recalled by Arizona on 23 January 2024 after injuries to Matt Dumba and Troy Stetcher.[12] He made his NHL season debut against the Carolina Hurricanes on 27 January, but was immediately returned to Tucson due to the NHL All-Star Game break.[13] He was recalled again on 8 March and got into two more games, going scoreless, before returning to Tucson after Travis Dermott returned to the lineup.[14][15] He appeared in 62 games with Tucson, recording nine goals and 32 points.[16] The Roadrunners qualified for the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs[17] and faced the Calgary Wranglers in their first round, best-of-three series. The Wranglers swept the Roadrunners, winning two straight games.[18] Söderström went scoreless in the two playoff games.[19]

Following his fourth season within the Coyotes organization, Söderström's rights were transferred to the Utah Hockey Club after the Coyotes' suspension of operations. As a restricted free agent with Utah, Söderström opted to return to Sweden by signing a two-year contract with his original club, Brynäs IF of the SHL, on 15 September 2024.[20] On 7 March 2025, Söderström's NHL rights, along with Aku Räty and Shea Weber, were traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a fifth round pick in the 2026 NHL entry draft.[21]

On 2 April 2025, following a season in which he recorded 37 points in 49 regular-season games as Brynäs surprisingly finished first overall, Söderström was voted the winner of the Salming Trophy as top defenseman in the SHL for the 2024–25 season.[22]

International play

Söderström was selected to play for Sweden's under-18 team at the 2019 U18 World Championships. He was injured in the round-robin game versus Russia and missed the rest of the tournament. However, Sweden went on to win gold.[23] He was selected for Sweden's junior team for the 2020 World Junior Championship and played with Rasmus Sandin on the team's top defence pairing.[24] The team advanced to the bronze medal game to face Finland, who they defeated to take the medal.[25] He returned to Sweden's junior team for the 2021 World Junior Championship.[26] However, the team were knocked out of the tournament in the quarterfinals by Finland.[27]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2017–18 Brynäs IF J20 16 3 3 6 8 1 1 0 1 0
2018–19 Brynäs IF J20 14 1 7 8 2 2 0 1 1 4
2018–19 Brynäs IF SHL 44 4 3 7 22 — — — — —
2019–20 Brynäs IF SHL 35 5 11 16 12 — — — — —
2020–21 AIK Allsv 12 1 5 6 6 — — — — —
2020–21 Arizona Coyotes NHL 4 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
2020–21 Tucson Roadrunners AHL 32 2 8 10 8 1 0 0 0 0
2021–22 Arizona Coyotes NHL 16 0 0 0 6 — — — — —
2021–22 Tucson Roadrunners AHL 32 3 16 19 24 — — — — —
2022–23 Tucson Roadrunners AHL 44 2 19 21 28 2 0 0 0 2
2022–23 Arizona Coyotes NHL 30 0 9 9 24 — — — — —
2023–24 Tucson Roadrunners AHL 62 9 23 32 34 2 0 0 0 0
2023–24 Arizona Coyotes NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
SHL totals 79 9 14 23 34 — — — — —
NHL totals 53 1 10 11 30 — — — — —

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2017 Sweden U17 8th 5 1 0 1 2
2018 Sweden HG18 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 2 1 1 2 0
2019 Sweden U18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 0 1 1 2
2020 Sweden WJC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 1 5 6 6
2021 Sweden WJC 5th 5 0 5 5 0
Junior totals 23 3 12 15 10

References

  1. ^ "Victor Söderström player profile". eliteprospects.com. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Klart: Victor Söderström Skriver Rookiekontrakt Med Brynäs" [Victor Soderstrom signs senior contract with Brynas] (in Swedish). Brynäs IF. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  3. ^ Layman, Matt (21 June 2019). "In drafting Victor Söderström, the Arizona Coyotes got their guy". Arizona Sports. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Coyotes sign Soderstrom to three-year, entry-level contract". Arizona Coyotes. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  5. ^ Newman, Logan (31 August 2020). "Coyotes loan defenseman Victor Soderstrom to AIK in Sweden". Arizona Sports. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  6. ^ Morin, Richard (17 July 2020). "Amid drama-filled season, Coyotes' top prospects finish it off by preparing for playoffs". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  7. ^ "AIK Hockey Lånar Oliver Wahlström och Victor Söderström" [AIK receives Wahlström and Soderström on loan] (in Swedish). AIK. 1 September 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  8. ^ Marshall, John (22 January 2021). "Coyotes hand Golden Knights first loss of the season, 5-2". Toronto Star. Associated Press. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Kessel, Soderstrom lead Coyotes past Sharks 5-2". ESPN. Associated Press. 8 May 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  10. ^ a b Mastey, Remy (25 July 2023). "Can Victor Söderström Earn a Permanent Roster Spot With the Coyotes?". The Hockey News. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Coyotes' Victor Soderstrom: Dropped to AHL". CBS Sports. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  12. ^ Cipollini, Alec (23 January 2024). "Coyotes recall Victor Söderström from AHL amid injuries to defense". Burn City Sports. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  13. ^ Cipollini, Alec (27 January 2024). "Coyotes send down two players to AHL as All-Star break arrives". Burn City Sports. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  14. ^ "Coyotes' Victor Soderstrom: Rejoins big club". CBS Sports. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  15. ^ "Coyotes' Victor Soderstrom: Returns to AHL". CBS Sports. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  16. ^ "Victor Söderström återvänder till Brynäs IF – skriver tvåårskontrakt" [Victor Soderström returns to Brynas] (in Swedish). Brynäs IF. 15 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  17. ^ "Roadrunners Clinch Berth In 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs". Tucson Roadrunners. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  18. ^ Kelley, James (27 April 2024). "Tucson Roadrunners' 2023-24 AHL season comes to close after 4-3 Calder Cup playoff loss to Calgary". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  19. ^ "Victor Soderstrom". Hockeydb.com. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  20. ^ O'Brien, Derek (15 September 2024). "Former Coyotes 1st rounder Victor Söderström heads home to Brynäs". The Hockey News. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  21. ^ "Release: Blackhawks Add Aku Raty, Victor Soderstrom and Shea Weber from Utah". NHL.com. Chicago Blackhawks. 7 March 2025. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  22. ^ O'Brien, Derek (2 April 2025). "Victor Soderstrom Wins Borje Salming Trophy As SHL's Top Defenseman". The Hockey News. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  23. ^ Akroyd, Lucas (28 April 2019). "Lucas, Lucas, Lucas! Sweden wins gold". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  24. ^ Akroyd, Lucas (30 December 2019). "Soderstrom shining for Sweden". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  25. ^ Akroyd, Lucas (5 January 2020). "Sweden edges Finland for bronze". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  26. ^ "2021 IIHF World Junior Championship Rosters". TSN. 12 December 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  27. ^ Akroyd, Lucas (2 January 2021). "Hirvonen the hero as Finns advance". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Arizona Coyotes first round draft pick
2019 		Succeeded by