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Chicago Blackhawks longtime goaltending coach Jimmy Waite is one of the best in the business. His track record speaks for itself.
Waite has worked closely with some notable NHL goaltenders over the years, such as two-time Stanley Cup champion Corey Crawford, future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury, and one-time Vezina Trophy finalist Robin Lehner. Scott Darling, Kevin Lankinen, Antti Rantta and Alex Stalock, among others, also had successful stints under Waite. Everything he touches seemingly turns to gold.
Now, Waite is tasked with grooming the next potential long-term starting goaltender for the Blackhawks in Arvid Söderblom, who has the tools to be special.
"His calmness — I've said it before — reminds me of Corey Crawford with how calm he is in the room," Waite said in a sit-down interview with NBC Sports Chicago on the Blackhawks Talk Podcast. "Nothing fazes him."
I joked with Waite that Söderblom even looks like Crawford on the ice with his all-black pads and equipment set-up.
"He does look like him," Waite said. "He's got a wide stance. Even on the ice, his hands are a bit like Crow, his body language is, he looks a little bit like Crow."
Waite said he also sees "a little bit" of Henrik Lundqvist in Söderblom, which is another great comparable. Lundqvist was one of the best goaltenders of his generation and recently inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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The only problem in the early going so far for Söderblom is that he has only three wins in 24 career appearances with the Blackhawks. He has played better than his record indicates.
"We don't focus on wins with him right now," Waite said. "Obviously we want to win, but for him, he knows he's playing well and we have to keep going on the same path and not change anything because one night might've gone wrong. You keep going the same way. He's got a good head on his shoulders that he focuses on the good stuff."
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It doesn't seem like Söderblom has been mentally affected by the low win total, either. That's not to say he's not frustrated, but he's confident in his abilities, and Waite sees it behind the scenes.
"100 percent," Waite said. "Obviously we're not a Top 5 team in the league so the wins are harder to come by sometimes. Sometimes it could be the goal support that's not there one night, sometimes it could be he had a great night but they just scored three or four great goals that he couldn't get the win.
"He's been playing his game, he's very solid. He's been playing consistent most of the time even though the wins are not there, but I'm sure if he keeps playing like that, we're going to have some wins out of him for sure."
Listen to the full interview with Waite on the Blackhawks Talk Podcast here.
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