BOSTON – On Tuesday night, the Boston Bruins announced that defenseman Victor Soderstrom has been assigned to the Providence Bruins.
The Bruins acquired the six-foot Swedish defenseman from Chicago over the summer, trading away Ryan Mast and a seventh-round pick. Victor Soderstrom signed a one-year, two-way deal for the league minimum with the Bruins the following day.
The Bruins called Soderstrom up to Boston on an emergency basis on December 4. During his stint with Boston, he played in eight games. He tallied an assist, his first point with the Bruins, and finished with a plus-three rating.
The Bruins’ blue line has been depleted due to injuries this season. The B’s are currently missing Jonathan Aspirot, Michael Callahan, Henri Jokiharju, and Jordan Harris. The good news is that Aspirot returned to practice on Tuesday morning, per Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald. Aspirot’s return shows that this could be a sign of good things to come for the Bruins once they return from the holiday break.
Due to the blue line running very thin, the Bruins claimed Vladislav Kolyachonok off of waivers last week. He is skating on the third pair for the black and gold in their game on Tuesday against Montreal.
Although the roster freeze is active, the Bruins are able to send Soderstrom to Providence as he is not waiver-eligible. If he played in two more games, he would be eligible for waivers. The Bruins seemingly did not want to risk losing a right-shot defenseman.
The Bruins lost defenseman Jordan Oesterle to the waiver wire to Nashville last year. He is still active on the contract that Don Sweeney inked in July 2024.
Soderstrom has played in 18 games this season for the Providence Bruins. While in the AHL, he picked up a goal and eight assists, and much like in Boston, he had a plus-three rating.