The One-Eyed-Swede

The 28 year old Swedish born left winger, Carl Soderberg is know for many things, his speed, resilience, skill and his longevity in the Swedish Elite League, but many people don’t know this wonderful Swede is legally blind in his left eye. His wiki page doesn’t even mention it, or hint at it, but apparently his nickname is “Yeti”, because of his determination to stay home and play in Sweden.  

 Before the injury Soderberg was a 20-year-old center, averaging a point a game for his Swedish National Team, the Malmo. He was playing some of the best hockey in his career in 2006-07 when he caught a high stick to his left eye and suffered a detached retina. The injury delayed his readiness to play in the NHL and took a little over a year for him to return to the ice. Now the “One-Eyed-Swede” Soderberg says he can only really see shadows out of his left eye. “You start to – you can feel if someone is there,” Soderberg said. “You don’t see them, but you can feel someone is coming. Other senses become better. You hear better. I’m pretty sure I can feel a lot better than other guys because I have to.” (Boston Globe Article).

This wasn’t something Soderberg told his new teammates right off the bat. Riley Smith said it took weeks to learn about his eyesight. Soderberg likes that the Bruins are very vocal on the ice because it is helpful for his game.  Once Smith found out about his teammate’s eyesight, or lack there of, he works with Soderberg and tries to quickly relieve him if he gets stuck on the right wing.

“I don’t regret anything in my career or my life,” he said. “Everything that happened to this point is part of my life, and has made me into the person I am and the player I am. I’m really satisfied with it,” Soderberg said.

Soderberg recently missed Thursday night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs because his wife Caroline and him are expecting a baby! Congratulations Soderberg!

Sources

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_S%C3%B6derberg
-http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospects/carl_soderberg/
-http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2013/12/05/taken-some-time-but-carl-soderberg-now-contributing-bruins/8kD4l6ZFAr6qpyuMXvu3DI/story.html