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PremierBromanov · 05-09-2020, 08:19 PM

Double Media week
1774 words
Ready for grading

Gunnar Söderberg is a Right Wing who plays for the Tampa Bay Barracuda. He shoots right handed and has a propensity to make plays, but also has a very strong shot and good positioning instincts. This season, Söderberg saw decent success with the Barracuda as a 2nd line winger, despite Tampa Bay's struggles with depth and scoring. Tied for second in scoring on the team and with a team leading 14% shooting percentage, Gunnar is poised to become the Barracuda's top scorer with the exodus of Kholin and Cloutier, if he can surpass Sawchuk, who also plays right wing. It will be interesting to see if the coaching staff deploy both on the top line to fill in gaps, or if they keep Söderberg on the 2nd line where he can potentially do more damage. Although either way, he'll be running with somewhat inexperienced centers in either Tom Fiddler or Michael Fitted, both of whom may not see 1,000 TPE in their coming season.

History

Gunnar Söderberg was drafted 2nd overall by Tampa Bay in the S47 entry draft over a year ago. The pick was traded to Tampa by the New England Wolfpack, in a deal I can't seem to locate. Gunnar spent the next two seasons in the SMJHL with the Knights, and some time in Colorado after a mid-season trade, for a total of 3 seasons in the juniors. Gunnar saw a typical rookie season, with little ice time, 3 goals, and 10 points in 50 games. However, due to his determination he quickly gained TPE, enough for him to warrant a 2nd overall from Tampa. Two days prior to the draft, Gunnar hit the SMJHL cap at 352 TPE, a little under 200 TPE in his first season. At this point, Gunnar had maxed out his defense and passing(80), improved his stick handling and skating to 75, and upped his scoring to sit at 71, to put him at the then-typical spread of 80 primary, 75 skating, and 70 secondary.

During his rookie season playoffs, the Kelowna Knights swept the falcons in the first round, followed by a tough 7 game series against the Montreal Militia to make it to the finals against the St. Louis Scarecrow. After winning both home games to open the series, the Scarecrow struck back by winning their own home series. The Knights struck back, winning at home but again lost in St. Louis. With the series tied at 3-3. In one of the most exciting game 7s, the Scarecrow and Knights traded goals, one a piece for each period, until the 3rd period, where the Scarecrow struck twice to put them up 4-2 by the 6th minute. The Knights scored shortly after, and an incredibly tense 4-3 game ensued for the next 15 minutes. Unfortunately for Gunnar, St. Louis held on and took the cup home. Gunnar saw just 7 minutes of game time that game, and the world does wonder what would have happened if they had just played Gunnar for 30 minutes straight. With the devastating playoff loss comes a few bright spites. Gunnar had 3 goals in 18 games, 2 of them game tying goals. Among his 4th line compatriots, he had the most points with 3, followed by 1 and 0. The least deployed defenseman on the team had 4 points. A pretty decent showing for a rookie with no ice time, and the 2 clutch goals helped carry the team to the very precipice of victory.

In his sophomore season, he saw vastly increased ice time which helped improve his record on the scoresheet to 14 goals, 20 assists, and 34 points in 50 games. However, despite being at cap, he was still playing 2nd line minutes due to the success of his 1st line counterparts. Lastly, Gunnar was on a +2 on the season, as he struggled to keep the puck out of his own net. This can largely be attributed to simon and line mates. By the end of his second season, Gunnar would be ready for today's 425 cap for Juniors and Seniors, however this rule was not yet implemented, and so his TPE remained banked, but the Barracuda watched his career with great interest.

The playoffs this year faired a little worse for the team, but much better from Söderberg. After sweeping the Colorado Raptors, the Knights took a 2 game lead agains the the Militia, who were eager for payback. They would get it, winning the next 4 games and knocking the Knights out of the playoffs, before themselves seeing the same fate as the Knights in the finals one season past. Soderberg did better this year, but struggled relative to his expectations. As the 2nd line winger, and sometimes also 4th line, Soderberg played 2nd most minutes of any forward on the team. Despite this, in 10 games he tallied only 4 goals and 2 assists, but including 1 game winning goal and 1 game tying goal.

The following year saw similar stats, with just a few fewer points, 33. After playing 43 games with the Knights, he was traded to Colorado and played the remaining 7 games with them, tallying 3 goals and 1 assist. Gunnar was tied among 4 other players for game winning goals with 5, 2 of them with Colorado. Despite the trade, neither team exited the preliminary round and both lost in 6 games. Soderberg had just 1 goal and 1 assist.

At the end of his 3rd season, Gunnar had acquired 600 TPE and the Barracuda were looking for a bottom 6 player to fill out their roster. So, in season 49 he was called up. The Barracuda had just 9 forwards to play with, so Söderberg had plenty of ice time as a rookie to develop his play style. Even with only 16 minutes a game, Söderberg managed an impressive 14 goals, 18 assists, 32 points in just 50 games, tying fellow rookie Oliver Cloutier for most points by any rookie that season. Both were well ahead of their next closest rival.

In the playoffs that season, Soderberg played 12 games and notched 6 points. The Barracuda won a best of 7 against West Kendal Platoon before losing in 5 games to the Wolfpack, who would go on to get swept in the finals. Again, Cloutier and Söderberg both had identical stats.

His next season, he increased his career highs to 42 points, 14 of them goals. Söderberg moved up into a familiar spot on the 2nd line, but without his fellow sophomore Cloutier who slotted in on the first line. However, it was the first time in his career that he actually got to play on the right side.

That year in the playoffs, things went a lot better for the Barracuda. After beating the North Stars and the Steelhawks in 6 games apiece, the Barracuda found themselves in the finals against the Calgary Dragons. It took a full 7 games to decide the cup in the finals, and during his 19 total games Söderberg found the playoff success he had been hoping for, with 10 goals, 14 assists, and 24 points. He had 3 game winners and 1 game tier, as well as a 1.27 points per 20 minutes. He lead his team in points and was 4th among all players in points, the other 3 having played 1 more game, although Mike Izzy had 16 goals and assists and was well ahead of Söderberg. The Barracuda opened up the series with 3 straight wins, following by a devastating reverse sweep, losing by just 1 or 2 goals in the first 3.

The next season seemed standard, Söderberg had 30 points, and the Barracuda were swept by the Buffalo in the first round, who were in turn swept themselves. The ole' double sweep. Soderberg tallied 1 goal.

A few weeks after the sweep, Söderberg updated his player for the first time in over 30 days, combining a season's worth of PTs and training and brought himself up to 1104 TPE.

In Season 52, Soderberg saw his new career high of 41 points, but the Barracuda would miss the playoffs. February 20th was their last game of the season.

In season 53, with the new build looming, Söderberg again posted his once-a-season update and brought himself up to 1172 and posted a new build.

His new build has a focus in being an offensive playmaker and scorer, a sort of William Nylander type (if the render was any giveaway). His shooting range was maxed, with Getting Open, Puck Handling, Shooting Accuracy, and Offensive Read all at 17, with passing at 15. His Agility is very high as well, at 17, with less focus in all other areas of skating, but each still at 15. His weakness is, of course, his defensive game, but he's no slouch in that category. He's merely underdeveloped. His positioning is high at 15 and his defensive read just below at 14, with little care taken to other areas. He would improve his defensive side over the course of the season.

But with a new Engine and new build comes some headaches. Söderberg saw just 28 points, but stands out as the teams best shooter.

Finally, awaiting a new build update, Söderberg's latest update puts him at 1289 TPE, currently ranked 14th in his class. It's a long way to fall, but Söderberg hasn't given up and continues to be a presence in the locker room. This also not counting GMs who were drafted much later, who can almost be assured to be at the top of the class list.

With big changes looming for Tampa Bay, the question still remains unanswered: What will the future of Söderberg look like? After losing much of the successful S50 core and going full steam ahead in the rebuild, Söderberg will be one of the team's best players, but will be surrounded by rookies and sophomores trying to make their way in the SHL. This new role of veteran among youth can see many reactions from players. Will he be reinvigorated at the injection of young talent, or will his heart yearn to be part of a blockbuster team pushing for the cup? Being part of a rebuild and rebuilding a team's identity can be rewarding, but every player wants a shot at the Challenger Cup at some point.