The Blackhawks have activated goaltender Alex Stalock from injured reserve, the team announced Monday morning. In a corresponding move, goaltender Arvid Soderblom has been reassigned to the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League.
Stalock has been out since Nov. 1 with a concussion, but he's been skating for a while now and has been practicing with the team for more than a week. With his return, the Blackhawks will have their original 1-2 punch of Stalock and Petr Mrazek healthy for the first time since October.
Even though the numbers didn't look great, Soderblom was solid for the Blackhawks as he rotated in and out as the starter while Mrazek and Stalock worked their way through injuries.
Soderblom went 2-10-2 with a 3.45 goals-against average and .894 save percentage in 15 appearances. He was winless in his last nine (0-8-1), although he certainly deserved better.
Stalock's return comes at a great time for a few reasons, one of which is that it allows Soderblom to get back to Rockford and handle a starter's workload for an IceHogs team that's rolling. Rockford offers a much better situation and environment for Soderblom to develop his game.
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