Bruins purchase former first-round choose in commerce with Blackhawks

Bruins

Victor Soderstrom was originally drafted 11th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft.

The Boston Bruins took a flier on a former first-round pick on Friday night — acquiring the rights of defenseman Victor Soderstrom in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. In exchange, Boston dealt a 2025 seventh-round pick and prospect Ryan Mast. 

Soderstrom, 24, was the 11th overall pick by Arizona in the 2019 NHL Draft. The right-shot defenseman has struggled to carve out a role in the NHL ranks since turning pro — appearing in 53 total games across four seasons. 

He earned most of his reps with Arizona during the 2022-23 season, appearing in 30 games and recording nine assists while averaging 16:10 of ice time per contest. 

Soderstrom opted to play the 2024-25 campaign in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) — where he posted nine goals and 28 assists in 49 games for Brynäs. For his efforts, he took home the Börje Salming Trophy as the SHL’s top defenseman. 

The 5-foot-11 blueliner is still a restricted free agent and will need to sign a new contract with Boston. But Soderstrom is the type of player worth taking a flier on for the Bruins — with the right side of their D corps an underrated area of need this offseason. 

The Bruins currently have a sizable gap on their depth chart when it comes to right-shot D after trading Brandon Carlo to the Maple Leafs in March. Charlie McAvoy and Andrew Peeke are the lone returning starters among right-shot D on Boston’s roster for the 2025-26 season, with Henri Jokiharju a free agent.

Given the dearth of cost-effective, high-upside right-shot D available in free agency, Boston parting with a seventh-round pick and a prospect like Mast seems like a worthwhile gamble for a player who could conceivably push for a third-pairing spot out of training camp. 

Mast, 22, was a sixth-round pick by the Bruins during the 2021 NHL Draft. The 6-foot-5 defenseman appeared in 37 games for the Providence Bruins this past season — scoring five assists. He was a healthy scratch in all of Providence’s games during the Calder Cup Playoffs. 

 

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.