On January 4, I had the chance to watch the Blue Jackets’ 2013 sixth round pick, Windsor Spitfires right winger Markus Soberg, play against Mississauga in the OHL.
Soberg is a 19 year old Norweigan in his OHL rookie season for Windsor, after playing for Swedish league team Frolunda’s junior team for the past two seasons. Soberg has OHL numbers that would bear out a third line role: six goals and 16 points. Though he was used in what was termed the second line, they very obviously got third line ice time. Looking at the numbers, it makes sense: Soberg’s linemates were two 2016 draft eligibles, in Luke Kirwin and Logan Brown, making for an “all-rookie” line.
Windsor coach Bob Boughner doesn’t entrust a ton of responsibility to Soberg, as he was not used on either penalty kill or powerplay. As a 19 year old who has pro experience – he suited up for a single game in the SHL for Frolunda last season – this is a bit damning, especially since both of his linemates saw powerplay time.
Markus finished the game a -1, and was on the ice for two goals against and one goal for. His Corsi was 46.8%, with 15 shot attempts for, and 17 against. That ranks as relatively favourable for him, but most of those attempts for were taken by linemate Logan Brown, who I’ll touch on below. Soberg had one individual shot attempt, a weak wrister, and a failed shot attempt as he was all alone in the slot and whiffed a bouncing puck that got away from a Mississauga defender. He had a very nice cross-ice pass through an open seam to Ryan Moore, who found Jamie Lewis for a tip-in play which narrowly missed. Otherwise, Soberg was rarely involved in any sort of offensive plays, such as cutting to the net, working along the boards, or chasing dump-ins. He tended to be a bit antsy defensively, never skating too deep into the offensive zone and always very quick to react to potential turnovers and begin backchecking, sometimes to a fault.
As an example of that, a loose puck come to a Mississauga player in their defensive zone. Soberg, playing high in the zone, turned and started backchecking, almost making it as though Windsor was playing three defensemen. As it turned out, the puck was knocked free almost immediately, ended up right in the spot that Soberg had chosen to vacate, and Mississauga regained possession and began an offensive rush.
While Markus showed eagerness to assume defensive responsibility, his defensive game is a work in progress. He is always puck-chasing in the defensive zone, trying to cut off passing lanes and knock pucks loose, but he isn’t hard on his marks, and seems easy to escape. He gives the appearance of working his hardest whilst not actually achieving a whole lot. Twice his check managed to avoid him and ended up in goals against, including one on a rush that started as a 2-on-3, with Soberg the third man back for Windsor. His check, Jimmy Lodge, skated directly past him and tapped in a goal, one of his three on the day.
On the whole, Soberg looks as though he’ll be a depth winger as a best case scenario, but I would consider it a big win if he played any NHL games. He seems destined to go back to Europe once his junior career ends, or maybe play a season or two in Springfield.
OTHER NOTES
I spent the rest of the game tracking Mississauga defender Sean Day. He’s a 2016 draft eligible in his second season with the Steelheads. I’ve heard many rave reviews of him and word is he’ll be drafted quite high next year. He is a very strong skater who has relatively well developed offensive instincts, especially for a 16 year old defenseman. He has a good, if inaccurate, shot which he may need to learn to trust a bit more as he matures. He’s a big body, already 6’2 and 220, but isn’t overly physical. The two major issues he’ll have to work on to shore up his game are his gap control when defending rushes, and his sometimes panicky defensive zone play. For such a strong skater, he gives up a TON of space to oncoming attackers. He is often the target of carry-ins and almost never breaks them up. He’s also a bit squirrely in the dzone, making very panicked plays when he is not being pressured. He needs to slow his game down and make more heady plays. Day scored a goal early in the game, but took two bad penalties – one on an easy off-the-glass chip in a no-pressure situation that sailed out of play.
Windsor centre Logan Brown, another 2016 draft eligible, had a great game. He was fairly quiet for the first two periods, but struck out big time in the third. He had six shots, and two of them went in, including a great pick-off of a Mississauga pass, where he skated in and rifled a shot over the shoulder of Steelheads goalie Cam Zanussi. Though already 6’5 and 215, he doesn’t play a game reflective of his size. He’s got to learn to better harness his strength down low, but once he gets going it seems like he’s impossible to stop.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the Winnipeg Jets’ 2013 3rd rounder Jimmy Lodge. When I first saw him, he had a good game on a line with Saginaw’s Nick Moutrey. He was then traded to Mississauga and I’ve had the fortune of seeing him three more times. He’s a fun player to watch, and has a lot of speed and skill. In Sunday’s game he notched a hard-work hat trick, and missed two more absolutely wide open nets. He works very hard offensively and is used as the top weapon for the Steelheads. If he were able to bulk up a bit [he’s listed at just 166 pounds on a 6’1 frame], it would go a long way to helping him become more dominant in the offensive zone.
I’ve only got a few more games left, and only one featuring a Columbus prospect: March 20 vs Nick Moutrey, who was traded from Saginaw to North Bay yesterday. Should be fun to see if his game has developed at all from when I first saw him a few months ago.
– Jeremy
Follow me on twitter, @307x.
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