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Is draft prospect Cayden Lindstrom a fit for the Calgary Flames prospect pool?

Originally posted on Flamesnation | By Ryley Delaney | Last updated 4/19/24

The Calgary Flames will either have a 5% chance of moving up to the first overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery.

Collectively, they’ll have a 10.4% chance of moving into the top two picks, so not very likely at all. Overall, their best chance is to remain at the eighth pick, depending on how they and the Seattle Kraken do on Thursday. So, we’ll look at a prospect who could be picked around that area in this article.

In this article, we’ll take a look at Cayden Lindstrom!

Cayden Lindstrom scouting report and profile

Left-shot centre, born Feb. 3, 2006 in Chetwynd, British Columbia, 6’3”, 210 lbs

Lindstrom is a left-shot centre born in Chetwynd, British Columbia, or for those of you who aren’t well versed in geography, in the middle of nowhere, British Columbia. The town of just over 2,500 people is about a three hour drive from both Prince George, British Columbia, and Grand Prairie, Albert, two fairly remote communities.

Tangent about geography aside, the 18-year-old plays for the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Western Hockey League, and scored 27 goals and 46 points in 32 games this past season. Moreover, he had a goal and an assist, as his team was swept by the Red Deer Rebels. The season prior, he had 19 goals and 42 points in 61 games, so there was certainly an improvement.

The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler ranked Lindstrom as his 11th-best draft prospect, which is actually one of the lowest rankings for the centre. The highest ranking was given by Eliteprospects.com and FloHockey’s Chris Peters, who ranked him as the third best prospect. The lowest ranking was given by Sportsnet’s Jason Bukala, who ranked Lindstrom as his 14th-best draft prospect. Moreover, Daily Faceoff ranks Lindstrom as the ninth-best draft prospect, with his consolidated ranking from EliteProspects being fifth.

BRING ON THE BEARS!

Cayden Lindstrom gets the Teddy Bear Toss goal 1:14 into the first period!@tigershockey pic.twitter.com/1LzUlRQ4Su

— The WHL (@TheWHL) December 3, 2023

According to Wheeler, the 6’3”, 210 lbs centre is “an excellent skater” and knows how big he is. He can hit, is strong on the puck, and is good at screening the netminder. His hands are good too, and he is good when away from the puck. The strength also allows him to win face-offs, and he is competitive, something you love to see in a player. It is worth noting that he missed time with hand surgery and a back injury.

Despite ranking him the lowest of any publication, Bukala doesn’t really say anything negative about Lindstrom other than his “three-zone compete can range at times”, as well as that he’s a score-first forward. Moreover, he calls Lindstrom a “solid” skater, rather than a powerful skater like Wheeler does. Bukala’s list came out at the end of January, when Lindstrom was still hurt, so that could be a reason why he ranks as low as he does.

Peters of FloHockey notes that he’s an “excellent” skater, especially for his size, and his size helps him excel in front of the net. The progression he’s made over the past few seasons makes him an intriguing player for many teams.

The Flames need centres in the farm system, and what’s better than having a big, powerful centre who can skate and take face-offs? Will he be available when the Flames pick, probably not unless they move up, but there’s always that chance.

This article first appeared on Flamesnation and was syndicated with permission.

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