Victor Söderström split last season between the Roadrunners and the Coyotes.
The 2022–23 season is fast approaching. Here at Five For Howling, we’re looking at this year’s 25 best Arizona Coyotes players under the age of 25.
The Arizona Coyotes used the 11th overall pick at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft to select Swedish defenseman Victor Söderström. Unfortunately, Söderstrom’s development has been impacted by Covid-19, but after spending an entire season in North America, he is looking good and ready to show what he can do moving forward.
Victor Söderström
2021–22 League: AHL, NHL
Regular Season Games Played: 32, 16
Regular Season Goals: 3, 0
Regular Season Assists: 16, 0
Highest Individual Ranking: 6
Lowest Individual Ranking: 7
Last Year’s Ranking: 3
After splitting the seasons between Europe and the North American leagues, Söderström spent all last season in North America. He spent most of his time with the Roadrunners but played a career-high 16 games with the big club.
Unfortunately, Söderström’s offense didn’t translate well to the NHL. Nevertheless, he was one of the first defensemen to get a shot when injuries started to mount up, playing with the Coyotes from October 14th to November 2nd before being sent back to the AHL.
Söderström looked better in the AHL and given he was only 20 years old, it isn’t surprising that he cannot make the jump to full-time NHLer right away. But that will only last so long, and eventually, Söderström needs to show what he can do.
Victor Söderström is still under the entry-level contract he signed under a previous general manager. But so far, General Manager Bill Armstrong hasn’t made any move to suggest that he is ready to move on from the Swedish defenseman.
With Jakob Chychrun expected to be traded at some point in the new future, Victor Söderström’s role with the Coyotes has become much more critical. His ceiling is still unknown, but with the Coyotes needing a new top defenseman, he has a chance to earn that spot