Arvid Soderblom should have made Team Sweden in place of Jacob Markstrom. He is having a better year than Sam Ersson.
On Wednesday, Team Sweden announced that Sam Ersson of the Philadelphia Flyers was going to replace the injured Jacob Markstrom of the New Jersey Devils at the Four Nations Faceoff.
Ersson is a fine goaltender but Chicago Blackhawks goalie Arvid Soderblom deserved to be the replacement.
Soderblom is slightly less known than Ersson who took over as Philly’s goalie last season but that doesn't outweigh the fact that the former has been better this season on a worse team.
After giving up five goals to the Devils on Wednesday night, Ersson is 15-9-2 with a 2.86 goals against average and a .890 save percentage. As for Soderblom, he has a similar 2.88 goals against average but his .910 save percentage is sparking compared to Ersson.
The Blackhawks are one of the two worst teams in the league in front of him which plays a role in his 7-11-3 record. That also makes the rest of his stats even more impressive.
Soderblom wasn't even expected to play in the NHL this season. Petr Mrazek and Laurent Brossoit were expected to be the tandem in Chicago this season but Brossoit hasn't played yet this year because of injury.
Now, he can confidently believe that he won't play anywhere else but the NHL going forward. The Hawks very well could have a long-term goalie in Soderblom. Team Sweden should have added him when they had the chance.
Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.