Rookie Profile Johan Söderberg

[Foehammer 14]

 

Johan Söderberg

 

Name: Johan Söderberg

Age: 18

Height (inches): 6'4
Weight (lbs.): 220
Birthplace: Uppsala, Sweden

 

Introduction

 

Johan's journey to the VHL is a pretty simple and straightforward journey. Johan created his game in the junior leagues in Uppsala, Sweden, where he was born, and really developed his play style when he joined his local hometown team of Almtuna IS. That is where he really honed on his passing skills, skating, and his strength overall. He considers himself a Power Forward in the Center position, looking to dominate in his lane and especially on the Faceoff, he enjoys getting the puck on his winger's stick and making this much needed passes, and can dish out hits and will always come to the protection of his team mates, even sometimes when its not really needed. He has a nice wrist shot, although scoring is not his main focus and one of the more weaker aspects of his game.

 

As he gears up for the upcoming draft, lets take a look at his rookie profile and stats, draft potential and his attitude and outlook.

 

Personality

 

 

When it comes to Johan, he can be a pretty simple and straight forward kind of person and while very competitive, he won't always show his emotions, especially in interviews. He is a team player, first and foremost, always looking at ways at how he can better the team with his play or even just himself. His emotions really come out on the Ice, where he really enjoys himself and just shows off his absolute love of the game, a smile is always bound to show up at some point while he is playing. He definitely has a temper, and while he rarely shows it, it has come out strongly a couple of times, most noteably while playing in Sweden for Almtuna IS and their game against AIK, when Johan charged a player from behind and into the boards, injuring the player and getting sent out of the game and suspended for a few games. It was one of maybe two times that his anger had taken over him and made him act in a stupid manner.

 

Strengths

 

Passing and Stick handling

 

Johan has really worked on his skills with the stick and puck, wanting to really be known for as a player that can see the pass he needs to send off for his line mates, as well as being able to control and handle the puck in those right moments that can set either himself up or again, his line mates. Since he picked up a stick, he has always focused on passing the puck and how to hold a stick properly for his technique, and it really shows when he is out on the ice.

 

Effort and Determination

 

Johan has never been known to give up, he will always fight and play till the last moment of the game, no matter what the score line shows. He skates as hard as he can whenever he is out on the ice, and although when he was a much younger player and could stay out on the ice longer than his line, he has learned how to accept the fact he has to adhere to line changes and take his rest time when it was required.

 

 

Strength and Leadership

 

While he may never be the size of some of the largest and biggest players on the ice, he isn't some small guy, standing at Six feet and four inches and weighing around two twenty, Johan knows how to hit and use his size to his advantage. He is not a known fighter and probably still won't become a fighter, but checking is his forte and he loves to give a good check, even if he has pushed it too far on a couple of occasions.

 

He has never earned a Captain spot on a team before, but he has earned himself an A and will always try to be a leader and motivator on and off the ice for his team mates. He isn't cocky about things, and loves to help out how ever he can, even if it means trying to motivate players while he is on the bench watching them play, congratulating them on simple things, and overall just trying to be as helpful as possible, is the idea.

 

Weakness

 

Offensive and Quick Skating

 

A good passer, a good scorer he is not. Johan has a number of goals under his belt during his minor league stints, and while never shy to take chances when there is no good pass, he is definitely not known for his scoring ability and would probably look to just keep in control of the puck then try to waste a chance on goal. While this may the be case now, it has been and will continue to change over time as long as he has the right coaches to show him shooting abilities and techniques.

 

Standing at 6'4, 220, it should be fairly obvious that he isn't the fastest skater by quite a bit, while he is probably faster than most D men, he has no plans on winning any quick skating competitions.

 

 

Lack of Media Experience

 

Having only played in Sweden, and not even in the top league at that, Johan has not had many interactions with media and we don't really know how his skills in handling interviews and post game pressers will be. He has been interviewed before, once as a young teen entering his local teams academy and once he joined Almtuna IS, both just little news clips in the local Uppsala newspaper. Look for him to start off a bit shaky and boring in interviews, but surely over time he will develop his media personality.

 

 

Defensive Awareness and Positioning

 

A decent skater, good at handling the stick, and can hit guys, Johan isn't too far off from being some what helpful on the Defensive side of things, and while he isn't the worst, he is certainly not the best Center on the Defense side of the puck. He can cover his guy, and sort of knows where to go, but reading the other team's plays and being able to pick up to intercept is not something he is good at, and will need to really work on this area if he wants to continue to develop into a well rounded player.

 

Conclusion

What you have in Johan Söderberg is a young and motivated Center, who stands tall and can hit hard, he can find those key passes and can handle the puck well enough on his stick while giving it his all out on the ice and never giving up. He will be a great pick up for any team that needs someone to slot into the Center role, especially if they are looking for someone to become a future Captain for a team. Expect an interview with Johan himself as we get closer to the draft.

 

Edited January 14, 2017 by Foehammer

[Banackock 8,045]

I expect swift competition from you. I've named you my newest rival  

 

Good work, man. Excited to see the player you build and become!