It’s that time of the year for The Win Column’s NHL Draft Rankings and Draft Profiles! The 2024 NHL Draft will take place on June 28 and 29 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
Next up in our rankings is Cayden Lindstrom. Lindstrom is arguably the top centre available in the draft outside of the consensus top pick, Macklin Celebrini. He offers the blend of size and speed that NHL teams covet, making him an incredibly intriguing prospect.
Who is Cayden Lindstrom?
| Player | Position | Handedness | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cayden Lindstrom | C | L | 6’4″ | 215 lbs |
Lindstrom hails from Chetwynd, BC, and has played all of his hockey out West—including his current stop in the WHL. When you watch him, he already looks like a pro hockey player given his imposing 6’4″ and 210-pound frame. With plenty of room to grow, he’s going to be a physical force one day.
Lindstrom’s on-ice production
| Year | Draft Relative | League | Team | GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 | D-2 | CSSHL U17 | Delta Hockey Academy U17 | 31 | 25 | 35 | 60 |
| CSSHL U18 | Delta Hockey Academy U18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| WHL | Medicine Hat Tigers | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | D-1 | WHL | Medicine Hat Tigers | 61 | 19 | 23 | 42 |
| 2023–24 | D+0 | WHL | Medicine Hat Tigers | 32 | 27 | 19 | 46 |
In his D-2 season, Lindstrom dominated U17 hockey at the age of 15 to the tune of 60 points in 31 games. The total ranked fourth on his roster, behind a trio of fellow 2024 NHL draft prospects. He even skated in some U18 games, posting one point in four games. He also put up a ridiculous 19 points in just five playoff games. That same year, he was drafted 54th overall in the WHL bantam draft and played in six games for the Medicine Hat Tigers, posting no points.
In his first full season in the WHL, Lindstrom put up 19 goals and 42 points in 61 games, along with one point in four playoff games. His 42 points ranked fourth on a very weak Tigers roster and also placed fifth among 2024 NHL draft-eligible rookies in points.
Lindstrom took a huge jump production-wise this season, jumping to 27 goals and 46 points in just 32 games, passing his D-1 total in pretty much half the amount of games. Unfortunately, he’s dealt with hand and back injuries since December and wasn’t able to suit up for any regular season games since December 16. He’s since returned for the playoffs, where he’s put up two points in two games.
Injury aside, his 1.44 points per game rate tied for second on the Tigers roster behind only phenom Gavin McKenna. Among 2024 draft-eligible skaters in the WHL, it ranked third behind Berkly Catton and Terik Parascak. His 0.84 goals per game rate, meanwhile, was by far tops on his team and was first among all draft 2024 draft-eligible skaters in the entire WHL.
It’s a shame Lindstrom suffered a major injury, as he looked set to put up some historic goal-scoring numbers in the WHL if he stayed healthy. Using his production before going down with an injury, he was on pace to score 57 goals. That total would’ve been the second-highest U18 goal total in the WHL since 2000, behind only Connor Bedard’s 71 goals last season.
Lindstrom’s strengths
Skating
For a forward of Lindstrom’s stature, skating is typically not a strength. However, what makes him such an intriguing prospect is that he’s able to combine high-end skating with his imposing size. It’s what makes him such a dangerous player, especially down the middle of the ice.
He’s not the fastest skater and never will be, but what stands out is just how smooth he is for a player his size. His straight-line speed and acceleration aren’t great, but everything else about his skating is impressive. He doesn’t look like your typical 6’4″ 18-year-old out there. He’s strong on his feet, and his stride is incredibly smooth and powerful. He possesses good balance for a player of that size and can be very strong to knock off the puck because of how smooth he is on his feet.
He’s able to dominate down low using his strength and edges or catch defenders flat-footed by blowing past them on the rush. It’s rare to find a player standing at 6’4″ who can excel at both, but that’s what Lindstrom brings to the table.
Below is an example of Lindstrom using his size and strong skating to power his way to the net, leading to a goal.
Size/strength
The most obvious aspect of Lindstrom’s game is, of course, his size and strength. He possesses all the traits of your typical power forward and isn’t afraid to use his size to his advantage. He’s consistently finishing his checks, bullying opponents down low, and pushing his way through defenders. In short, he’s a force at both ends of the ice because of how big and strong he is already.
Because of how big he is, he can dominate down low on the cycle and maintain possession to generate chances. He’s great at shielding the puck and holding off defenders to create time and space for himself and his teammates. He brings a ton of physicality to the ice every shift, which makes him a scary player to go up against most nights.
He’s simply a dominant force on the ice because of how big and strong he is compared to most players. Obviously, the competition will get much tougher after junior. Still, there’s no reason to believe Lindstrom won’t get even stronger as he ages, which is a scary thought for anyone who has to play against him.
Compete level
Intangibles are a hard thing to grade when looking at prospects, but it’s tough to ignore just how hard Lindstrom competes every night. He’s a workhorse at both ends of the ice, constantly battling for every inch of space on offence and defence. He’ll be a coach’s dream at the next level, given his willingness to commit and do whatever it takes every shift.
There’s rarely a shift where you don’t see him getting in hard on the forecheck, backchecking to break up players on defence, or battling down low for possession. He just has that extra gear that makes him stand out most nights. It’s common to see him use his size to throw some big hits and make his presence known.
Here are some clips that showcase what Lindstrom brings to the table.
Lindstrom’s areas of improvement
Offensive upside
One of the major knocks on Lindstrom is his lack of dynamic, game-breaking skill. He just doesn’t possess the elite skill that most of the other forwards ranked in the top 10 do. There’s not much flash to his game, as he’s very much an old-fashioned power forward. That certainly isn’t a bad thing—but there may be some teams who want some more dynamic skill in a top-10 pick—given the direction the NHL has gone over the past decade.
Lindstrom can dominate using his size and strength, but he’s never going to dazzle or make highlight reel plays with the puck. This will also likely limit how much he will contribute offensively at the next level. It’s not like he doesn’t possess any skill; there’s just plenty of room for improvement as he gets older in regards to his puck-handling ability, playmaking, as well as his overall hockey IQ and decision-making. The good news is he can work on a lot of things as he gets older.
Lindstrom’s comparables
Lindstrom is a unicorn of sorts. It’s rare to see a player of his size move as well as he does, which makes him a unique player. This may not seem like a favourable comparison right now, but he does look similar to someone like Pierre-Luc Dubois. If we ignore his recent struggles, at his best, Dubois is a strong power forward and two-way centre who can produce offensively.
Like Lindstrom, Dubois doesn’t have elite game-breaking talent, but it’s his overall toolkit that makes him a really strong second-line centre or low-end number-one centre. For that reason, I think peak Dubois is a good comparison to what Lindstrom will likely be at the next level.
Fit with the Flames
The Flames desperately need to add some talent down the middle of the ice—and Lindstrom is one of the best centres in the draft—so the fit is obviously there right away. With a complete lack of high-end talent at centre ice in the organization’s pipeline, Lindstrom would be a tremendous fit for a team in need of some centres for the future.
Lindstrom would immediately become not only the best centre prospect in the Flames pipeline by a wide margin, but he’d also become the highest upside centre in the entire organization. Given the team’s needs right now, he is very likely one of the best fits in the entire draft for the Flames.
Summary
Lindstrom is likely one of the strongest sure things in the top 10 of this year’s draft. There will almost always be room on an NHL roster for a player who has the size and skating that he does. He’s a prototypical low-ceiling, high-floor type of top-10 pick. Is he going to be an elite point-per-game centre in the NHL? Likely not. However, even if he doesn’t reach his full potential, there’s a strong chance he lands in the NHL as a middle-six centre, at worst. His overall toolkit of size, compete, and two-way play leaves very little risk for whoever picks him in the draft.
It’ll be interesting to see where Lindstrom lands, as some scouts rank him as a top-five pick, and some who have him outside of the top 10 completely. His lack of elite offensive upside may scare off some teams, meaning he could slip down a few spots and present a team with a great opportunity to pick up the draft’s best power forward and a near guarantee for an NHL player.
Risk: 1/5
Reward: 4/5
Projection: Top-six two-way centre
Check out all of The Win Column’s individual player profiles of selected 2024 NHL Draft prospects:
Macklin Celebrini | Ivan Demidov | Artyom Levshunov | Sam Dickinson | Cayden Lindstrom | Berkly Catton | Cole Eiserman | Zeev Buium | Konsta Helenius | Zayne Parekh | Carter Yakemchuk | Anton Silayev | Tij Iginla | Adam Jiricek | Michael Brandsegg-Nygard | Liam Greentree | Igor Chernyshov | Trevor Connelly | Aron Kiviharju | Michael Hage | Ryder Ritchie | Sacha Boisvert | Nikita Artamonov
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