Cayden Lindstrom : In-Depth Scouting Report
Cayden Lindstrom has one of the richest profiles we have seen in a prospect in recent years. Standing at 6’4 and playing in the critical position of center, the only way to get your hands on a prototype of this kind is to draft him. Few players can combine finesse and talent with the typical characteristics of a Power-Forward.
Lindstrom’s greatest value on the ice, and what most sets him apart from other prospects, is how well he can dominate the play ‘Down Low’ (anything below the faceoff circles, below the goal line as well as the corners of the rink). The diversity of tools in his arsenal available to him to defeat his opponents is very vast; he has the quality of puck handling, the length of his reach, his ability to escape thanks to his surprising agility, and without forgetting his physical strength conferred by his imposing frame. Not only can he single-handedly extend his line’s offensive sequences by several seconds, he also has the offensive intelligence to create scoring chances from these locations. While it is often the individual skills in open spaces that capture the attention of hockey fans, it is the skills in these ‘Down Low’ areas and in these tight spaces that win hockey games. This is even more true when it comes to a 4 out of 7 playoff series. These long confrontations against a player like Lindstrom take it tolls on defenders and that is when a team can take advantage. Lindstrom himself uses his size to attack the goal line and make a dangerous push towards the goalie to beat them short side.
It’s also from these deep zones that Lindstrom’s puck distribution is most apparent. And this is something that I pay very particular attention to among prospects: Is there a logical sequence, a fit, between the different strengths of a player? Can one quality elevate another quality in his game? If this is not the case, we may end up with ‘outlier‘ skills that will not be able to be exploited at the next level since there is no complementarity with the player’s other attributes. In the case of Lindstrom, he presents possibly the most ‘coherent‘ profile that I have had the chance to see in a prospect. All his skills intertwine in harmony. He uses the aforementioned qualities to free himself from a coverer and buy time to spot a winger and is also seen making one-touch passes to spot a teammate in the slot, without giving the defensive coverage time to react .
Aside from that, Lindstrom may not be the most versatile playmaker, but he’s starting to gain confidence and we’re starting to see some blossoming creativity in his game.
We see an example here when well positioned at the top of the slot, Lindstrom executes a saucer pass over the sticks of the two defenders to reach a teammate who had huddled behind them to find himself alone in front of the goalkeeper . A great softness of the hands is necessary to execute such a delivery.
This is the kind of passes he likes to make as he draws the attention of everyone on the ice by attacking defenders with speed before cutting into the middle.
Another aspect of Lindstrom’s identity is his ability to break out of offensive ‘Cyclings’ with the puck. He can turn a harmless possession into a scoring threat by gaining the slot with his size and long reach, but what’s fascinating about Lindstrom in these situations is how quickly his feet move and how he’s able to create separation. If I said that Lindstrom’s layering of qualities was coherent, there are many times when you watch him execute something and say to yourself that it simply doesn’t make any sense. A player of this size should not normally have such fast feet.
Lindstrom has a surprising lightness on his skates, allowing him to make sudden pivots on himself in confined spaces to get rid of a coverer.
Despite this, his strides are extremely powerful and make him a player who can push back opposing defenders as soon as he gets going, creating plenty of space and room for maneuver for his teammates. And once again, I would like to point out the cadence of his strides which is out of the ordinary for a player with such a size.
It is by using his high speed that Lindstrom most incorporates his shots on goal. Many of his shots come from the wings as a shooting lane opens up after the defender was unable to match his speed.
You don’t produce at a rate of nearly 60 goals per season in the WHL at 17 by chance and Lindstrom let us know that. He is so dangerous as he can score from several places; his wrist shot is very powerful and he manages to beat goalkeepers in the top corner even coming from long distance, it is at the top of the slot that Lindstrom uses his one-timer rather than in faceoff circles, and finally, the Medicine Hat Tigers center scored a large number of goals at the mouth of the net, a place where he is particularly difficult to dislodge and where he can put his quick hands to good use.
Speaking of his puck handling, the British Columbia native once again draws praises. What catches the eye when he dribbles the puck is how swift and decisive his movements seem. Also, despite a very long reach, it is especially when he seems stuck that Lindstrom displays the most finesse, making him a player who on occasion seems simply impossible to contain.
We also saw him gain confidence with his hands as the season progressed, beginning to experiment with delays and Toe-Drag on his shots to change his angles.
As if his individual skills were not enough to seduce you, Lindstrom advocates a robust style of play which is made far too rare among young prospects nowadays. It’s a style that can be difficult to advocate consistently over a season due to all the repercussions it can have on the body. This is even more true when it comes to an impactful offensive player who must avoid getting out of the play or being penalized. Lindstrom likes physical play to the point where he won’t pass up on any chance of delivering a hit. What I like about him is that he won’t hesitate to take a little detour from his route to hit a player. Which makes him a threat at all times and none of his opponents have the luxury of feeling safe when the big number 28 steps on the ice.
The last aspect to address in Lindstrom’s game is his defensive game. This is perhaps the only blemish on his record. It was in his zone that he made the majority of his turnovers, not making the right decisions when pressure was applied to him along the boards. There were also a few sequences where he was a little slow to react in his defensive coverage.
For this reason, I’m not entirely convinced that Lindstrom is a center at the next level. That and also the fact that he draws the maximum of his potential in situations where he would most often find himself on the wing; the play Down-Low in the offensive zone as well as his rush coming from the outside. Which is a bit of a shame, because Lindstrom has a high success rate in faceoff circles.
On the other hand, this in no way influences my perception or my projection of the player. Prospects exhibiting this level of talent in a body like this, and proudly displaying a physical identity that is almost obsolete in modern hockey, are simply too rare. The only way to obtain such a prototype is to draft very high, and again, it is not every year that a player of this type finds himself at the top of the draft.
Commentaires