3 X-Factors that will make the rest of the Blackhawks season exciting

Arvid Soderblom’s performances in the crease

Arvid Soderblom has been a player you root for, but he’s far from a success story just yet. Signing on as an undrafted free agent following a pair of dominant seasons in Sweden. After putting up similar performances for the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs, Soderblom has since transformed into a 1B for Chicago, but his time in the NHL has been ultra-pedestrian.

In 39 games played and 34 starts, Soderblom has just a 4-28-3 record with an 0.881 save percentage, a 3.86 GAA, and just 11 quality starts. But it’s hard to pin the blame entirely on him, as the Blackhawks have been such a poor team since he arrived in the Windy City. 

For example, Soderblom has dealt with 1,147 shots against between his three starts in 2021-22 and February 15th, which averages to him facing 29.4 shots on goal per game. That said, you can make the case that a young goaltender like Soderblom has tried making the most of an awful situation, but this also doesn’t mean you can put the blame entirely on the Blackhawks. 

Soderbloom needs to show that he can be the future of this young Blackhawks team by stepping up and getting more consistent in the net. He’s hardly seen any consistency yet this season, so it’s up to him to change that regardless of the situation he’s currently in.