Elmer Söderblom

Elmer Söderblom stands out for his combination of size and fine puck controlArticle in HockeynewsRead the sourceArticle in SVT SportRead the sourceArticle in SportbladetRead the sourceClose. Elmer SöderblomArticle in SHLRead the sourceArticle in Frölunda HCRead the sourceClose grew up in Gothenburg, with Hovås HC as his first hockey club. In an October 2021Article in SHLRead the sourceClose interview with SHLSHLSHL, the Swedish Hockey League, is Sweden’s top men’s domestic ice hockey league.Close, he recalled attending his first Frölunda game with his maternal grandfather at about 6: Frölunda won and Scandinavium was full, but he could no longer remember the opponent.

Hockey was not his only childhood sport: in another SHL interview that month, Söderblom said he and Arvid had spent a few years practising Greco-Roman wrestlingSHL, the Swedish Hockey League, is Sweden’s top men’s domestic ice hockey league.Article in SHLRead the sourceClose. He felt wrestling had taught him to control his body in a different wayArticle in SHLRead the sourceClose.

In 2017, Söderblom was among the players from Frölunda’s U16 group admitted to the club’s hockeygymnasiumA Swedish hockeygymnasium combines upper-secondary (high school) studies with scheduled ice hockey training.Article in Frölunda HCRead the sourceClose, an upper-secondary education programme combining school studies with hockey training. KatrinelundsgymnasietArticle in Göteborgs StadRead the sourceClose also lists him as a former student. In the October 2021Article in SHLRead the sourceClose SHLSHLSHL, the Swedish Hockey League, is Sweden’s top men’s domestic ice hockey league.Close interview, he recalled a call-up during the 2019/20 season when he left the U20 team’s travelling group to join Frölunda’s senior team in Linköping.

In January 2020, Söderblom joined Tingsryds AIF on loan in HockeyAllsvenskanArticle in HockeyAllsvenskanRead the sourceClose, where his older brother Arvid was a goalie. In a Sportbladet interview that December, their mother said Elmer had stayed with Arvid during the loan and done the dishesArticle in AftonbladetRead the sourceClose.

In the same interview, his mother recalled the childhood nickname The MailmanArticle in AftonbladetRead the sourceClose, which the family used because Elmer kept delivering goals. She also described how the family competed even when playing board gamesArticle in AftonbladetRead the sourceClose.