The Detroit Red Wings announced this afternoon that they’ve assigned rookie forward Elmer Soderblom to the Grand Rapids Griffins, their AHL affiliate. No corresponding move was announced. This will be Soderblom’s second stint with the Griffins this season.
The decision to send Soderblom down isn’t too much of a surprise, as Michigan Live’s Ansar Khan reports, forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Filip Zadina are both due back from injury fairly soon and the Red Wings will need a pair of roster spots for them. Already at a full 23-man roster before sending Soderblom down, the Red Wings will need to make another move in order to get both of their injured wingers back on the active roster.
Listed at 6’8 and 246 pounds, the massive Soderblom was an exciting addition to Detroit’s opening night roster. The 21-year-old has been solid for the team in limited action, missing time due to injury earlier in the season and averaging 12:04 in time-on-ice per game. Through 21 games, Soderblom had five goals and three assists for Detroit.
With Soderblom on his ELC and thus not eligible for waivers and Detroit needing the roster spot, this assignment seems like a perfect fit. However, considering Soderblom has shown he’s certainly capable of playing in an NHL lineup, it does raise questions about the plan for Soderblom going forward. With 2022-23 being his first season in North America, perhaps an extended stay in Grand Rapids, possibly seeing top-six minutes and special teams action, could be good for his development as he continues to adjust to the smaller rink.
Whatever Detroit chooses to do with the young forward, puzzling but presumably well-thought-out decisions in the face of a roster crunch wouldn’t be unprecedented after the team waived forward Jakub Vrana earlier this week.
They could trade Erne and Suter, both will be free agents at the end of the year. I wonder if Zadina still be able to be waived without being claimed.
YES! They certainly could do ALL these things! I like Sutet’s play – but he is too small to rush the net, or take a guy into the corner. Erne just doesn’t seem to be DRW material in their total look. Zadina – trade him, heads up – for another ‘dud’ to change the scenery. Zadina is just a lot of hope with no results.