"I'd have to say I'm somewhere in between being a prospect and a veteran," the native of Sollentuna, Sweden, said. "For me, when you look at my career I know I have to play well now. I have to deliver to be able to play where I want to play. If not, it will be disappointing."
Fred Chabot, Iowa's goalie coach, said Svedberg appears to be on his way to improving his prospects of making it back to the NHL, much like former Iowa goalie Alex Stalock did last season.
"[Svedberg] came in with an open mind," Chabot said. "He is a very hard-working, high-compete guy and is also very detailed in his routine. He works really hard at his game. Toward the end of the year, we are going to see a lot of that improvement."
Despite struggling early while adjusting to a new team and overcoming a couple of nagging injuries, Svedberg is showing signs of the kind of player he was when the American Hockey League named him the league's best goalie at the end of the 2012-13 season. Signed as a free agent in 2012, Svedberg compiled a 37-8-2, with his wins ranking second-most among rookie goaltenders in AHL history.
This season, Svedberg has overcome a recent lower-body injury, which nagged him enough to miss 11 games. In the third period against Milwaukee on Dec. 15, Svedberg got hurt when he was run over in the net late in the game. He finished to collect his 7th win, but missed playing for almost a month.
"I have been unlucky with some injuries lately. It's tough when you get run over, but that is what happens in hockey," Svedberg said.
Svedberg said that he was frustrated for much of the month as the injury healed, but slowly. At the same time, he said that his teammates helped him get through it.
"When you are hurt, you find yourself in a bad mood. You don't feel good in practice," he said. "But these guys are easy to play with and they supported me. We work hard for each other and I really appreciated it."
Svedberg signed a one-year contract last July with Minnesota after posting a 43-36 record during two seasons as the top goalie for Salavat Yulayev in the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League.
"I was looking to go back to North America because I wanted a chance to get back to the NHL," Svedberg said. "Minnesota was interested in giving me a shot and it seemed like a good place to be."
In training camp, Svedberg was impressive, but not enough to lock down the backup position behind Minnesota's Devan Dubnyk. Instead, Stalock, who had been Iowa's top goalie, got the nod and has played well in his reserve role.
Svedberg acknowledged his disappointment, but said that his time with Chabot has improved his play, particularly his attention to detail.
"In general, I am getting better at sticking with my game plan throughout the game," Svedberg said. "Working here, especially with Freddie, he is very particular about the details. He expects a solid game that sticks to the game plan."
Chabot, who was named the AHL's outstanding goalie after the 1994-95 season, said Svedberg emphasizes his blocking by positioning himself in the crease and controls rebounds very well.
"There were a few things that he could do better and he has been open to it. There has been real improvement," Chabot said.
As a result, Svedberg could well be peaking at the time the Wild needs it the most: during the push to make the playoffs for the first time in the Iowa franchise history.
"Everyone here wants to make the playoffs," Svedberg said. "We know that we are good enough to go deep in the playoffs and that's the goal right now for everyone here."
As for making it to back to the NHL, Svedberg said that is also the goal.
"It's no secret that everyone here wants to play in the NHL," he said. "But this is a great group. It is important to us to play well here."
