The Chicago Blackhawks traded up to grab undersized Swedish forward Tim Soderlund with the No. 112 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The Hawks sent the No. 135 and No. 181 picks to the Vancouver Canucks in order to move up to grab Soderlund.
Soderlund measures just 5’9, 163 pounds, but he’s got the speed and hustle to be a potential NHL player. ESPN’s Corey Pronman ranked him No. 84 among all prospects in the 2017 draft class, praising his ability to blow by defenseman.
“While Soderlund is not a playmaking dynamo, he has solid puck skills and can move the puck around,” Pronman wrote. “He’s at his best when he’s hustling for pucks and barreling through the neutral zone. He’ll need to bulk up to be more effective with his style of play
Last season with Skellefteå AIK of the SHL, Soderlund recorded seven points in 39 games. But he was extremely young for the league, turning 19 in January, so it’s not surprising he didn’t put up big numbers. The year before, he racked up 39 points in 42 games in SuperElit, a Swedish junior league. He also played for Sweden in the 2017 World Juniors.
The Blackhawks have four picks remaining in the draft. Stay tuned for it all here.