[CliffFletcher]

Like a lot of hockey fans, my introduction to Lindros was the 91 Canada Cup. The Canada/World Cup gets sneered at today, but back then it was the most prestigious best-on-best tournament in the hockey world. The 87 Canada Cup was fresh in fans’ minds as one of the best hockey tournaments in history. People were absolutely pumped in anticipation of the 91 tournament.

So it was shocking when Lindros - who was still in junior and hadn’t played a game in the NHL - was picked for the team. Especially when you consider Steve Yzerman didn’t make the cut. The hype around Lindros was unprecedented, so a lot of fans were skeptical. This guy had never played against adults, and he was jumping straight into a tournament of the world’s best players.

Then we saw him on the ice. Not only was he one of the biggest players in the tournament, he could skate and keep up with the best players in the world. And he hit. In each of his first two games, he hit opponents so hard he knocked them out of the tournament. I remember me and my buddies cheering and laughing as he nailed a Swedish player into the boards with a clean hit and left him crumpled on the ice. IIRC, it was his second shift of the tournament. He was 18.

Lindros finished the tournament with 3 goals and 5 points in 8 games playing on the fourth line. After that, nobody doubted the hype anymore.

Edit: For all that, I still think Forsberg was the better all-around player.