2019 NHL Draft

Victor Soderstrom

Brynas J20 (Superelit)

Steve Kournianos  |  09/11/2018 |  Nashville  |  [hupso]

Photo courtesy of Nathalie Andersson

Profile

Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Right
Height / Weight: 5’11, 179 lbs
Born: February 26th, 2001 | Skutskär, Sweden
Nation: Sweden

The Draft Analyst Ranking:

PRE AUG NOV DEC APR JUN
Watch List 14 11 12 13 —

Regular Season

Season Team GP G A PTS PIM
2017-18  Brynäs J18 (J18 Elit) 16 6 11 17 16
2017-18  Brynäs J18 (J18 Allsvenskan) 16 1 13 14 8
2017-18  Brynäs J20 (Superelit) 16 3 3 6 8
2017-18  Sweden (WU17HC) 5 1 0 1 2
2018-19  Sweden (U18 Hlinka) 2 1 1 2 0
2018-19 Brynas (SHL) 44 4 3 7 22
2018-19 Sweden (U18 WC) 4 0 1 1 2

Scouting Report

Graceful two-way defenseman who sticks to the belief that defending and coverage are equally as important as rushing and distrubuting the puck. Soderstrom last season was carefully nurtured by Brynas in their under-18 junior team, as Adam Boqvist controlled the backline for the U20 squad. Now that Boqvist has moved on, it’s Soderstrom’s chance to take the reigns and prove himself to be an elite defense prospect. He’s gifted with the puck and has a commanding presence while orchestrating an attack from as far back as his own goal line. Soderstrom is a hard shooter with a whip-like release for his wrister, which is tough to handle and causes rebounds, especially during the power play.

Soderstrom is an excellent puck handler with soft hands and a quick-strike mentality — he always looks for a home-run option and can make accurate stretch passes immediately upon retrieval. He also skates the puck out with speed and confidence, and he creates end-to-end rushes that can place him deep into opposing territory. What separates Soderstrom from almost all draft prospects is that he can read plays extremely well, and he uses his quickness and elite backskating to limit the amount of times he gets trapped. Soderstrom is an excellent one-on-one defender and keeps an incredibly tight gap. He communicates effectively with his teammates, who can rely on Soderstrom to cover the slot and only support below the goal line if the situation is critical. There are times when he backs in too much while defending against an entry, but his quick first step, fast closing speed and active stick make life otherwise difficult for opposing puck carriers. He also can play on the penalty kill and will successfully challenge bigger forwards in the low slot or crease area. Soderstrom is very strong on his skates and can deliver jarring hits along the boards or in open ice. The Real Deal Holyfield with immense promise.