3 reasons why it is okay the Blackhawks are letting Arvid Soderblom overcome his struggles in the NHL

The hope by now was Arvid Soderblom would have a firm grasp on the No. 1 goaltender spot. Hope and reality are two different things.

Soderblom's first full NHL season has been rough. Rough is putting it politely.

The Hawks have won just two games when he has started in goal. Soderblom has given up 13 goals over his last two games.

He has a 4.15 goals-against-average and a .870 save percentage. Those numbers put him dead last in the NHL among active netminders this year. Only Antti Raanta has a worse save percentage and he was recently waived by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Do not expect Soderblom to suffer the same fate as Raanta.

Soderblom's third-period meltdown in St. Louis normally would have given him a one-way ticket to Rockford to fix his game. Instead, head coach Luke Richardson wants him to work out his issues with the Blackhawks.

Soderblom should be thanking the current state of the Blackhawks as the reason he is still in the NHL. If the Hawks were a contender, he would have been sent to the AHL about a month ago. Since this is still the early stages of an extensive rebuild, a goalie with a -6.6 goals saved above expected gets chance after chance to figure it out at the game's top competition level.

Then again, Lukas Reichel is getting the same chance on the wing. Both were considered future cornerstone pieces coming into the season. Although, Richardson cannot healthy scratch Soderblom. He can sit him for more games though. Then again, rebuilds allow for patience except watching Soderblom give up goal after goal makes it hard to give him time.

While it is hard to watch, allowing Soderblom the opportunity to get right in the NHL is the right thing to do for a couple of reasons...

There is no better alternative.

The Hawks could have claimed Antti Raanta to fill the backup goalie spot, but he was playing worse than Soderblom. Jaxson Stauber had a cup of coffee with the Chicago Blackhawks last season. He had a 5-1 record but the offense provided him a lot of goals. The offense has not been spotting Arvid a lot of leads to work with.

Stauber has a 3.41 GAA with a .890 save percentage in 13 games with Rockford this season. Maybe, Stauber could produce better, but it is not like he is a wall in goal either.

Drew Commesso is benefitting from Soderblom's struggles as it looks like Commesso is now the organization's future No. 1 goalie. He is nowhere near ready to play in the NHL. He is doing well in his first full season in Rockford, but goalies need at least a season and a half before they are truly ready for even a spot start.

This is not like the blue line where the Chicago Blackhawks have some other prospect options to work with. Wyatt Kaiser got sent down because the Hawks had Isaak Phillips waiting in the wings. This is not the case at goalie.

Thankfully, Petr Mrazek is playing well as the top netminder and has avoided the IR. Soderblom's problems have the possibility of trading him at the deadline in doubt.