Sörensen, 50, was unknown to many when he – literally overnight – suddenly became the first Swedish head coach in the NHL.
Chicago chose to fire Luke Richardson in December after a poor season start and instead lifted Sörensen from the farm team Rockford.
It has been up and down. A tough season in terms of results, in the end we played much better, we got in some more young players and more energy. It is clear that there are many lessons both for me and the players overall. We took steps forward in many different areas, he says.
The classic team is reshaping its squad and has many young players with the 2023 draft pick Connor Bedard, 19, at the forefront.
Hallam made contact
It speaks in favor of Anders Sörensen and a continuation since he has proven how good he is in the development of young players.
At the same time, the past season was tough in terms of results and Chicago finished second to last in the NHL.
I think you can combine both player development and good results, but the NHL is very result-based and there is pressure from the outside from fans, says Sörensen.
Right now, they are interviewing current coach names, including Sörensen, before the club decides.
It was Tre Kronor's national team captain Sam Hallam who made contact with Sörensen and asked if he wanted to join Tre Kronor's coaching staff in the World Championship.
He asked if I was interested. It felt positive directly and then he was very clear about how I would be involved, says Sörensen.
He describes his role in the World Championship team:
I work with Nicklas Rahm (also assistant coach) on powerplay, then with forwards against forwards and a bit of everything, bringing some impressions, says he.
"A bloody engagement"
Hallam is very pleased with what Sörensen has contributed from his NHL experience so far:
He brings a bloody engagement and positivity and then a long experience of working with video and with talks with players and in the coach's room.
He brings a dynamic and we learn from each other the more we talk, says Hallam.
Sörensen enjoys being part of the national team during a World Championship at home, "the fans have been great" and the Olympic Games are of course in the back of his mind.
Absolute, one is very proud to be part of the national team here at home and the Olympic Games would be big. It will be many NHL players too, so it would be really fun.
