Carl Soderberg one of "Biggest turnaround guys from last season"

Carl Soderberg looked like one miserable person last season, and why not? He suffered through the worst statistical season of his career on the worst team in Colorado Avalanche team history (not including Quebec). Talking to Soderberg had all the charm and comfort of a Mike Wallace “60 Minutes” interview.

But there was an actual smile on Soderberg’s face again Thursday night, and not just because he is the father of a baby boy delivered by his wife a few days ago. Soderberg seems to be having…fun…again as a hockey player. He posted 14 points in 80 games last year; after his first 14 this year, including Thursday’s 6-2 Avs win over the Washington Capitals, he has seven.

“The two biggest turnaround guys for me from last season are (Soderberg) and (Blake) Comeau,” Jared Bednar said after the game. “They’ve been very consistent at what they do, very disciplined on their puck play. They’re hard and heavy on the puck in all three zones.”

Soderberg, in the third year of a five-year, $23.75 million contract, wasn’t even protected by the Avs in the expansion draft this summer. And, he wasn’t even in the lineup on opening night this season, at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers. Everything between him and the team still seemed bad.

It was a critical point in Soderberg’s career probably. He could have pouted and sulked and buried his way deeper into Bednar’s doghouse. Whether it was a purposeful test of his character or not, Bednar said Soderberg passed that test and he’s come to trust him as much as any player in the lineup since. He scored a goal the next game, in New Jersey, and has seen his ice time increase. He played 20:17 against the Capitals, recording a nice assist on a Mikko Rantanen goal and was strong on the penalty kill, logging 2:25 of short-handed ice time.

“It was really tough,” Bednar said, when asked about scratching Soderberg on opening night. “But that’s when I knew that he was going to be good. Because, the way he handled that, for me, just showed me a lot about his character and what he was willing to prove this year for our team. We missed him, for sure, in Sweden.”

Soderberg missed being able to go to his homeland, too. But his wife went into labor just prior to the two-game NHL Global Series in Stockholm, and family comes first. She gave birth to a boy, the couple’s third child.

“I would liked to have played in Sweden, of course, but to be honest, it was two regular-season games, so…” Soderberg said. “Everything is fine, everybody is healthy, so it’s good.”

Soderberg, who had 51 points his first season with Colorado under Patrick Roy, seems to have accepted more of a defensive role under Bednar. He was always considered a pretty good defensive forward to begin with, but scoring only 14 points in 80 games was personally embarrassing for him. Now, things look much more respectable again offensively.

“I think we have a pretty good line, me, Nietsy (Matt Nieto) and Blakes,” Soderberg said. “We know our role, and are good defensively and can create offense too. We feel good, we’re winning this year and we feel really good at home too, so that’s fun.”

After a season that can best be described with a four-letter word, it’s back to that three-letter word for Soderberg, at least for the moment.

Fun.