Tomas Søgaard - Junior Review

[Brandon 426]

Tomas Søgaard

Left Wing | Copenhagen, Denmark | 6’1” | 195 lbs

 

 

The year is ‘S68’, you leave Copenhagen’s city center and take a 15-minute drive north-west to the city line limits. As long as it’s daylight and the local pond is frozen, you will be hard-pressed not to find Tomas Sogaard, age 4, skating laps upon laps with his oversized hockey stick and puck. From a young age, Tomas’ was captivated by the VHL, and while the majority of his friends and colleagues took a better liking to soccer, Tomas was hooked to the game of hockey. Often running around the room with a mini-stick, you will catch young Tomas trying to imitate the goals of the semi-local VHL team Malmo Nighthawks’ leading scorer Matt Thompson. 

 

Growing up in the Danish hockey system, Tomas Søgaard always stood out as a talented player, an extremely high IQ player with speed and puck-handling skills, but one who lacked the size and weight to be taken seriously by out of town junior scouts. That was until his 16th birthday when Tomas went from being one of the smaller players on the team to one of the tallest. Instantly, there was a change in pace to his game, almost as if his feet could finally catch up to the pace that he was thinking the game at. It was at this time that scouts from Frölunda’s junior team decided to make a move on the young Copenhagen-native.

 

In Frölunda U20, and under the guidance of Fredrik Rönnberg, is where Tomas would truly flourish and find his game. After coming off a slow start with 0 points in 8 games, Søgaard became red hot and would finish the season with a goal-per-game pace, ultimately forcing coach Rönnberg to put the 16-year-old on the power play. 25 games, 17 goals, and 10 assists later, Tomas Søgaard was the front-runner for rookie of the year. Not bad for a player local Frölunda HC fans wouldn’t know the name of only six months prior.

 

Watching his rookie season highlights, it was very obvious who Tomas Søgaard modeled his game after. Søgaard was a shoot first, think later type of player. Tomas’ strengths lay in his speed, agility, ability to find open ice, and his ultimately lethal shot. However, this style of play can be to his detriment, and while he possesses the talent to succeed at a high level, Tomas will need to find a better balance in utilizing his linemates. Often the trouble for young talents who come from less-developed hockey cities. A far superior talent player will often try to do it all himself, and that can only get you so far. 

 

After Frölunda’s season ended, Tomas expected to pack his bags and head home, probably play a little bit too much VHL S82 on his PlayStation in the off-season. Little did he know that, only a mere week later, the Mexico City Kings from the VHLM would call his phone, offering him a spot on the starting roster, to take a crack at the VHLM S82 cup. It was only fitting that the young Dane would pack his bags once again, off to chase his dream of a VHL Continental Championship. One that he has been dreaming of since he was a child, fully suited in Malmo Nighthawks gear, cheering on his favorite player, Matt Thompson.

 

There are many hurdles ahead for Tomas Søgaard, but there’s one thing for sure, Tomas has shown that he is not one to back down from a challenge.