A Blast from The Flyers’ Past: Tommy Soderstrom And A Look Into What He’s Been Up To Lately

Born in Stockholm, Sweden back on July 17^th, 1969, Tommy Soderstrom spent most of his youth playing on the outside rinks in and around his hometown of Stockholm. Starting at the age of eight, Tommy immediately fell in love with the goaltender position- A fondness that he would, over time, continue to pursue to its fullest. 

Refusing to listen to the naysayers along the way who told him he wouldn’t ever make it far because of his diminutive size, Soderstrom set out to prove them all wrong by rapidly developing into one of the best young goalies coming out of Sweden at that time. Fast forward some years later: Despite standing at just 5’9, Tommy found himself being selected to represent Team Sweden in Anchorage, Alaska at the 1989 World Junior Championships (WJC). Once there, although he and his team played very well, they ultimately, came up just short (achieving the silver medal for their efforts) after losing to the offensive juggernaut- the Soviet Union team -which included a young Pavel Bure, Alexander Mogilny, and Sergei Fedorov.  

After an impressive showing at the WJC, Soderstrom returned home to Stockholm where, in the following season, he helped his hometown team the Djurgardens IF triumph over the best the Elitserien (now known as the Swedish Hockey League (or SHL)) had to offer and win the league’s championship for the first time in his career in the 1989-1990 season: A feat that was good enough for the Philadelphia Flyers to be willing to take a chance on him, selecting him in the 11^th round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft- 214^th overall. 

After being selected by the Flyers, Tommy stayed put in Sweden for the next two seasons in order to further develop his game- and develop he did. Now playing in a starter’s role in Sweden’s top professional league, Soderstrom not only earned himself his second Elitserien Championship, but his league’s Rookie of the Year award to go with it. 

Where most would decide to take some time off after winning back-to-back Elitserien Championships for Djurgardens, Tommy refused and elected to represent his country once again on the world stage, this time at the World Championships where he carried Sweden to back-to-back Championships there as well and took home every possible award or title for a goaltender in the process in both the 1991 and 1992 seasons. At the 1992 World Championships, Soderstrom played exceptionally well; Managing a 1.40 goals against average (GAA) and a .929 save percentage (SV%) in 5 games played in that tournament. He even shut out the revered Soviet Team in the process. 

Seeing all of Soderstrom’s recent successes and the hype that newly surrounded him since being drafted (with some even calling him the second coming of the great Pelle Lindbergh, given their shared country of origin and similar stature), It was quite an easy decision for Philadelphia to make when they decided to bring him over to the states. 

Once stateside, Soderstrom quickly grabbed the attention of the Philadelphia faithful that had been waiting (not so patiently) for him to arrive. For some it was because of his elite play with the team’s then-American Hockey League affiliate the Hersey Bears, but for most it was because they had never quite seen a goalie like him before. His peculiar acrobatic techniques (where he used all parts of his body to make a save) were one thing, but his style and idiosyncrasies were another. For example: Soderstrom secluded himself to the confines within his net when the play was not down in his end of the ice. He also preferred to wear a Jofa players helmet with a capacious cage on it that allowed him to see so much more than the standard-issue goaltender mask of the day. Additionally, Tommy also wore an all-white pad set up and played with no tape on his stick to enable him to identify that black puck quicker after making a save (so he could cover it up). 

After a quick stint with the Hersey Bears it was time for Soderstrom to make his long-awaited NHL debut as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1992-1993 season, a year where Tommy was able to win 20 games and post 5 shutouts. This was a pretty impressive feat for a first-year player on a team that was struggling- and in the middle of a transition period; even though they may have had a 19-year-old Eric Lindros and a 22-year-old Rod Brind’Amour, they were not yet the powerhouse they would become after later bringing up Mikael Renberg the following season, and obtaining Eric Desjardins, and John LeClair in a trade a few years later (after Tommy was already gone). 

But, just when Soderstrom had seemed to be on his way to NHL Stardom, he was dealt a heavy hand: He found out in the middle of his impressive rookie season that he had a medical condition called Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome (WPW), which is when a person has an extra electrical pathway between their heart’s upper and lower chambers that causes a rapid heartbeat. While these episodes of increased heart beatings are not always life threating, they can be sometimes profoundly serious in nature, causing symptoms such as a rapid, fluttering of the heart or palpitations, possible dizziness, shortness of breath, fatigue, extreme anxiety, chest pains-with the possibility of fainting. These attacks can come on suddenly and last for just a few seconds or for hours at a time. (Information on disease was defined by www.mayoclinic.org)  Forced to deal with this unexpected diagnosis, Tommy had to have a total of FIVE heart operations to correct it; two of which were back to back immediately after finding out about his prognosis and the rest were then spread out over the next year or two.  

With all this going on it should go without saying that Soderstrom’s play was obviously affected; Tommy played in just 34 games for the Flyers the following season before being sent back down to Hersey and, after only 78 games played (over the course of two seasons) for the Flyers, Philadelphia then decided to part ways with their once-prized prospect by making the decision to trade Soderstrom to the New York Islanders in an effort to reacquire their former Conn Smythe winning goalie Ron Hextall and a 5^th round pick in return. 

Once on Long Island, Soderstrom teamed up with fellow Swedish-born goaltender Tommy Salo for parts of the next three seasons before making the decision to return back home to Stockholm to play once again for the Djurgardens IF of the Elitserien. He then was able to return to form and capture the award for the league’s most valuable player in the 97-98 season, before deciding to retire in the year 2000 on a high note at the age of just 30 years old after winning the Elitserien’s Championship for the third time in his career!

Since his decision to retire from the game he so loved, Tommy has spent some of his time investing in the stock market. Additionally, Tommy “The Gambler” (as some teammates used to call him seeing that he was obsessed with games of chance- specifically the roulette wheel) is now an ambassador for a gaming company called Leovegas. He enjoys spending time with his dog and plays racquetball 3 to 4 times a week to stay in shape. During the warmer months, he vacations at his summer home where he enjoys playing golf. All of these newfound passions have supplanted the one he left behind him all those years ago when he took off the pads for the last time as a professional; Although, when he reflects back on his once-budding career, Soderstrom does not feel slighted by the medical condition he had to deal with. Rather, he was humbled by it and thankful for what hockey was able to provide for him over the years. Tommy still enjoys the sport he excelled at for so long but is rather enjoying his life after hockey as well.  

Who knows to what heights Soderstrom could have taken the Flyers to if he was never diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome?  One thing is for certain though- many people in and around the Philadelphia area still have fond memories of him from his short stint here and will always appreciate the efforts he put forth for the Orange and Black.