Chicago Blackhawks goalie Arvid Söderblom probably won’t be able to watch boyhood idol Henrik Lundqvist play in the Hockey Hall of Fame Legends Classic — he has his own start against the Florida Panthers around the same time Sunday — but he’ll be with him in spirit.
“I’ve been following him really close, like, his whole career, basically,” Söderblom said of Lundqvist, who will be among seven inducted into the Hall of Fame on Monday in Toronto. “Every morning (I was) waking up looking at the (New York) Rangers highlights, looking at him.”
Lundqvist played for Frölunda in Söderblom’s hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden.
“He’s been a great inspiration for me and all Swedish goalies (from) my generation,” Söderblom said.
Lundqvist will become the first Swedish goalie inducted into the Hall. The others going in Monday are Tom Barrasso, Caroline Ouellette, Pierre Lacroix, Ken Hitchcock, Pierre Turgeon and Mike Vernon.
“He shows that even though Sweden is a pretty small country, we have a lot of good players over here in the NHL, a lot of good goalies throughout the years, but he’s been the best and he’s really deserving all of this now,” Söderblom said.
The Hawks goalie had shared the ice with him, albeit briefly.
“He skates in my hometown in the summer, so we actually skated together a couple of times,” he said.
Lundqvist will take the ice in a game Sunday for the first time since 2020. A heart condition that required surgery forced his retirement in August 2021.
“That’s super sad it ended that way,” Söderblom said. “You always want to end on your own terms, but of course health is the most important thing for him. Before he took his final decision that summer, he skated with us and he looked so good, like he could play in the NHL. But I guess his heart wasn’t (healthy) enough.
“But that’s one thing about him … he was so focused and competed, even in the summer. That’s probably his biggest strength as a goalie, that mindset and compete level. That’s probably why he got as far as he did. So that’s something I’m really looking up to and try to do the same as well.”
Here’s what other members of the Hawks had to say about other players in the Legends Classic.
Ryan Donato called Adam Oates, a team captain in Sunday’s game at Scotiabank Arena, “one of the greatest playmakers of all time.
“So for me to watch him play and how smart he is, even today, it’s pretty cool.”
His father, Ted Donato, played with Oates on the Boston Bruins from the 1991-92 to 1996-97 seasons.
Ryan recalled his dad telling him that when it came to playing with Oates, “just get him the puck and get your stick on the ice and get open. Don’t come near him, he wants his space.
“He’s one of those guys that has confidence where he knows that he wants to puck and doesn’t want anybody around him. He wants the puck by himself, and he’ll find it.”
Hawks coach Luke Richardson, a longtime defenseman, can tell plenty of stories about sharing the ice or locker room with a lot of hockey’s greats, but not many from this induction class.
“I did play in the (1987) World Juniors with (Pierre) Turgeon, but back then it was just like the seven-game round robin and we got tossed out of the tournament,” joked Richardson, referring to the infamous “Punch-up in Piestany,” in which Canada and the Soviet Union were disqualified for brawling. “So it wasn’t a really memorable time.”
But Richardson can lay claim to playing in the 2016 Legends game on Swedish defenseman and former Toronto Maple Leafs teammate Börje Salming’s squad.
“He was a boyhood idol, and he was like twice my age,” Richardson said. “It’s kind of like Corey Perry and Connor Bedard this year.
“I had a chance to play with him and he looked great. It was so sad that he passed away (from) a really grueling disease (ALS), but for me to have that opportunity to play with him one more time and be in the dressing room with him, that was pretty special.”
