World Junior 2016: Söderström named tournament's best goalie, sits out Sweden's bronze loss

The World Junior Championship ride is over for Linus Söderström, and the Islanders goalie prospect was named the tournament's best goaltender on Tuesday.

Söderström, who went 4-1 with a .947 save percentage and a tournament-leading two shutouts, sat out Sweden's final contest, an 8-3 blowout against Team USA in the bronze medal game. He made 26 saves in a 2-1 loss Monday to Finland, who went on to beat Russia 4-3 for their second gold medal in three years.

It was quite a run for Söderström, who before the tournament went public with his Aspergers and ADHD. He let up only seven goals against in seven games and put on some very impressive performances including a 1-0 win over Team USA and a 5-2 win over Team Canada.

After the loss to Finland, Söderström was very emotional in a TV interview that sadly, I can't find actual video for is now here thanks to reader Anch. According to Aftonbladet.se, the 19-year-old cried, saying (via Google Translate) that the loss of a shot at gold was "the worst I have experienced in my life so far." Scroll into our comments to see more of the interview which Anch was also gracious enough to translate.

So it's back home to Sweden and his professional team Vita Hästen. Playing in Allsvenskan, the second highest professional league in Sweden, he has a 4-8-2 record with a .927 save percentage this season.

Söderström certainly got some attention on this side of the Atlantic during this year's tournament, and we know we'll be keeping an eye on him and hoping he becomes a big part of the Islanders future.