Victor Ejdsell's first NHL opportunity with Blackhawks comes quickly
Victor Ejdsell has had some week and a half.
His SHL season ended on March 14. The plan was to quickly join the Rockford IceHogs, but that got delayed four days due to an issue with his visa. He finally was able to leave Sweden on Wednesday. He practiced with the IceHogs on Thursday and played in games on Friday and Saturday. He was recalled by the Blackhawks on Sunday morning and is expected to play in his first NHL game on Monday.
On top of all that, he still hasn't fully adjusted to the time zone difference.
“Not 100 percent,” the 22-year-old Ejdsell said after the IceHogs' game Saturday night. “I woke up at 6:30 this morning and couldn't sleep almost. It's coming, though. … I'm going to keep adapting to everything. It's been fun to be here.”
It should be even more fun Monday as he takes the ice for the Blackhawks at the United Center. The Blackhawks acquired Ejdsell, a 6-foot-5 forward, as part of the Ryan Hartman trade with the Nashville Predators last month. Ejdsell had 20 goals and 14 assists in the SHL this season.
Ejdsell displayed some of his offensive ability in his first two games with the IceHogs, recording an assist and six shots on goal.
“He's got skill for sure,” IceHogs coach Jeremy Colliton said Saturday. “Of course, I coached against him last year, so I had a pretty good idea what was coming in. It's his first time really on the small ice. I think he was at prospect camp last year with Nashville, but it's a different thing to play live and in sort of a playoff chase.
“Willingness to shoot the puck. He's got a heavy, heavy shot. Not afraid to play in traffic. Obviously a big frame, protects the puck well. He's got vision. He can make plays. He added a nice dimension for us. You can never have enough of those type of players.”
Unfortunately for Colliton, Ejdsell is already moving on. He is, however, expected to return to the IceHogs before the end of the season.
Ejdsell has spent most of his career on the larger sheet of ice in Europe. He got a taste of the smaller rink when he attended the Predators prospect camp last summer, but Friday and Saturday were his first real games on it.
Ejdsell has noticed he'll have to make some adjustments.
“It's been fun,” he said. “It's also been tough to adapt to the smaller rink. It's a different game here. I think I've done better than I expected, just going to keep it going. … You have less time everywhere, so your mind got to be faster.”
The AHL game is also much different than what's he accustomed in Sweden. He may actually find the NHL game to be more suitable.
“It's kind of different, you kind of dump the puck a lot more than you do in Sweden,” Ejdsell said of the AHL. “In Sweden, you want to keep the puck within the team more, just want to keep the puck as long as you can until the opportunity [is there]. Here, you kind of chase it more and chase the puck all the time and shoot it when you get a chance.”
Colliton didn't want to throw too much at Ejdsell over the first few days. They watched some video together, but Colliton advised Ejdsell to just experience everything and play his game.
“We know he's a good player,” Colliton said. “We know he can make plays. From his perspective, just try to get in as many situations as he can and he can help us.”
Ejdsell played center in his first two games with the IceHogs. In Sweden, he saw time at wing and center. He centered Tyler Sikura and Henrik Samuelsson on Saturday.
“It doesn't really matter,” Ejdsell said. “I've been playing half and half in Sweden. Last season I did center all season. I'll play wherever they want me to play. They said they wanted me to play center here. I guess they like my game as a centerman and I just go with that.”
Ejdsell quickly found ways to get off his shot in the AHL games. He'll undoubtedly be looking to net his first NHL goal sooner than later.
“I'm just seeking into the area in the slot where you can get good opportunities,” Ejdsell said. “I'll keep shooting and hopefully they find in there some way.”
