Cayden Lindstrom

June 2024 – Lindstrom was selected 4th overall by the Blue Jackets. Pat Quinn

April 2024 – Cayden Lindstrom has the makeup of the kind of top-six centre that NHL teams covet, and for good reason. Lindstrom is a towering 6’4 pivot with high-end athletic tools and defensive upside, but his game is in no way defined by these attributes. Lindstrom’s skills are best showcased on the offensive side of the puck and in the attacking zone. Lindstrom is highly effective in transition where he can build a head of steam to create entries and quality rush chances.

In-zone is where Lindstrom’s tools really shine, getting off the boards into the middle of the ice frequently, using excellent body positioning and puck protection, winning pucks back deep in-zone, and showing small-area puckhandling and awareness that would be the envy of many smaller players. He also has a hard shot but makes a living playing the game “the right way”, getting to the dirty areas of the ice, playing through checks, utilizing smart off-puck routes, taking high-quality shots, setting up his teammates, and finishing his checks hard. While Lindstrom has a high floor of a physical, two-way centre with a strong possession game, it is easy to envision him using his offensive pop to turn into a high-end top six forward, especially if he can stay healthy. (April Rankings: #3) Luke Sweeney

November 2023: Lindstrom has been showing up all over the place on different draft boards, and for good reason: it’s quite hard to get a grasp of his true upside.

Physically gifted and willing to use it, Lindstrom is incredibly disruptive along the boards, competes hard on every puck, and does a lot of little things right. From his tendency to cut to the middle off the rush, to his hard back-checks, to his ability to take each puck in stride without needing to slow down, there are many details of his game that scream ”NHL”. On top of that, his skating is polished and he has no problem carrying his large frame on 200 feet, with or without the puck. Early on, we probably would have ranked his playmaking as a below-average tool. However, we’ve seen incremental growth in his ability to draw pressure in and dish the puck through it, to go along with the refined goal-scoring and stickhandling mechanics. His ranking at 8th overall on our early board is a bet on that incremental growth continuing, and if it does, Lindstrom could develop into something special. Hadi Kalakeche (November rankings: 8th overall)