In the wild and wacky world of NHL shuffles, the Arizona Coyotes just played their hand by summoning the one and only Victor Soderstrom from the minors. Why, you ask? Well, it’s all thanks to the unfortunate fate of Troy Stecher, who’s nursing a grumpy lower-body injury that’s benched him for a timeline between four and six weeks.
Soderstrom’s been living it up with the Tuscon Roadrunners in the AHL, racking up 21 points in 38 games—hot stuff for a defenseman, right? That score has him chilling at fourth place on the Roadrunners’ leaderboard. Oh, and let’s not forget his déjà vu from last season with the same-ish 21 points, but over a few extra games. Jumping up to the NHL mid-season, he casually tossed in another nine points in 30 games, because why not? The guy’s been in the NHL for a total of 50 games, cuddling up with 11 career points, which, by the way, makes him part of an exclusive club of 2019 NHL Draft First-Round picks with 50 or fewer NHL games under their belts—talk about elite company with Kings’ hopeful Alex Turcotte.
Anyway, the Coyotes are practically an infirmary right now with injuries left and right—six to be exact, including both Stecher and Matt Dumba (the latter wrapped in mystery regarding his condition and return). The team’s defense is so thin; you’d think they’re preparing for a summer beach bod competition. Enter bruisers Michael Kesselring and Josh Brown, the former being a greenhorn in the big league with 11 points in 28 games, and the latter, a quiet NHL fixture racking up 28 points across 264 games. Now, Soderstrom’s back to bring his A-game and hopefully, prevent the Coyotes’ defense from collapsing like a house of cards. And honestly, with the way this season’s going, they could use all the help they can get!