2024 NHL Draft Thread

[sureLoss]

https://www.nhl.com/news/macklin-cel...at-nhl-combine

Lindstrom's health
Cayden Lindstrom, who won the Canadian Hockey League's Top Draft Prospect Award, will not participate in all the testing at the combine this week for precautionary reasons after sustaining a back injury in December, according to his agent Daren Hermiston.

"He's going to test on a few of the physical portions of it and there's a couple he's staying away from that he has exemptions on," Hermiston said. "There's a few things we're staying away from for the time being that aren't being advised by his trainers."

The 18-year-old center had 46 points (27 goals, 19 assists) in 32 games prior to the injury that ended his regular season in Medicine Hat of the Western Hockey League. Lindstrom scored a goal in 19 of 32 games (59 percent), which included eight multigoal games.

His health will likely be a topic of discussion among the 19 club interviews he has scheduled this week.

"We've used an NHL team's physician since Christmas on this injury and on [May 24] I provided Central Scouting with the report," Hermiston said. "The report from the NHL team physician and Cayden's physiotherapist was given to all 32 NHL teams.

"The summary of the report is that Cayden is going to make a full recovery. His back has been good for a while, and he's back to training five days a week and he's on the ice. All the NHL clubs have the report, they have the MRI, and they know the doctor's opinion is that he's going to make full recovery."

At the time of the injury, Lindstrom, considered to be an elite power forward of this draft, was on pace to score at least 57 goals. He played just four of five WHL playoff games and was not released to Canada for participation in the 2024 IIHF World Under-18 Championship in May as a precaution.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

https://www.nhl.com/news/macklin-cel...at-nhl-combine

He is falling fast me thinks.

[dammage79]

I'll be the one of the happiest Flames fans if Lindstrom plops into the teams lap at the draft.

I wonder if it's the Flames team doctors that have been working with Lindstrom. Actually it's more likely it's Edmontons since Chetwynd is closer to Edmonton.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by dammage79

I'll be the one of the happiest Flames fans if Lindstrom plops into the teams lap at the draft.

I wonder if it's the Flames team doctors that have been working with Lindstrom. Actually it's more likely it's Edmontons since Chetwynd is closer to Edmonton.

I'll be one of the un-happiest, I wasn't that high on him to begin with but hand surgery, bad back and not healthy enough to compete at the combine it's just too many red flags for me at 9.

[flamesgod]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

I'll be one of the un-happiest, I wasn't that high on him to begin with but hand surgery, bad back and not healthy enough to compete at the combine it's just too many red flags for me at 9.

Just curious, but prior to injury what about his game didn’t you like?

[jmerkel3d]

Does anybody have any examples (other than Bennett) of a player in the to 5-10 with such pronounced injury concerns?

(And I know it "wasn't injury" concerns as much as it was fitness at the combine with the pull-ups, but I just feel like that would this boards goto example)

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[SuperMatt18]

So this is interesting...

"We've used an NHL team's physician since Christmas on this injury and on [May 24] I provided Central Scouting with the report," Hermiston said. "The report from the NHL team physician and Cayden's physiotherapist was given to all 32 NHL teams.

This has to be the Flames right...there is no other NHL team close to Medicine Hat that the team would be able to use their medical advice.

Have to think the Flames would have a better read on his health than anyone then.

[Monahammer]

Not participating at the combine makes the entire statement of "he's healthy and has been for a while!" extremely dubious. I'm picking Tij over him if they're both on the board. He's still over Catton in my book though.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Stay away from a player with injury issues. Not to mention his goal and assist ratio for a C is a concerning as well.

[Erick Estrada]

Teams have the MRI and information from his doctor and we don't so there's no point in arguing over what we don't know. I still think he's getting picked before 9 but if he does slide then it's telling of the information not being convincing enough for some teams.

[dissentowner]

We should get so lucky that Lindstrom drops to us. Can't see it happening but if he does you sprint to grab that pick.

[Bonded]

Who is the last draft pick that panned out after dropping big because of injury?

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by Bonded

Who is the last draft pick that panned out after dropping big because of injury?

Not sure, but it usually doesn't end well.

If Iginla and Lindstrom drop to us, I hope they sprint and push Linstrom out of the way so we can select Tij.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Always take the riser!

Unless it's a mid round pick and it's a no risk situation I.e. Kylington.

[RedHawk12]

Originally Posted by Bonded

Who is the last draft pick that panned out after dropping big because of injury?

Mat Barzal and David Pastrnak immediately come to mind.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by flamesgod

Just curious, but prior to injury what about his game didn’t you like?

I don’t like the way he uses his linemates or the way he coughs up the puck, I still think he’ll end up a winger in the NHL.

[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts (Goalie Edition, Vol. 16)

LHG Marcus Gidlof, 6'6", 212lbs

Leksands IF J20: 26gp, 14-12-0, 2.22 GAA, .923 SV%
Leksands IF J20 (Playoffs): 5gp, 3-2-0, 3.14 GAA, .895 SV%
Leksands (SHL); 1gp, 9.00 GAA, .625 SV%

I've largely been ignoring Gidlof until recently, thinking that he was overrated because of his size, and perhaps paying too much attention to his Sept.28th, 2005 birthday- which makes him one of the oldest prospects in the draft. There's been a lot more chatter about him recently though, with Pronman ranking him as the best goalie in this year's crop, and Logan Horn of THW saying that if a goalie were to jump up into the first round, it would be Gidlof. I've certainly taken notice, and in diving back into scouting reports that I may have previously skipped over, there's certainly something there. Gidlof led the J20 league in both GAA and SV%, and only two other netminders posted a SV% above .910. With a player who was only a few weeks away from being eligible to be drafted last year, it's important to look at stats from 2022-23: 14gp, 7-6-0, 2.86 GAA (19th-overall), and a .904 SV% (14th-overall). Central Scouting has him ranked as #10 for EU Goaltenders.

One of Gidlof's best traits is his ability to track pucks, even through heavy traffic, and a player of his height can get a bird's eye view over players standing around his crease. Another of his best features is his top-notch rebound control; he is able to track the puck all the way into the save, and swallow it up before any crease-crashers can get to it. There are very few times in a game that he gives up an egregiously bad rebound, and when he does, he's adept at tracking it well enough to make the second-chance save. Gidlof is said to possess good athleticism, but he's not in an elite class in this regard and perhaps doesn't need to be at the junior level as he covers so much of the net, even when down in the butterfly. For a player of his immense size, he displays good mobility in his crease, and is aggressive in challenging shooters by exploding out to the edge of his crease in a telescopic motion. His lateral quickness could use a little work for the next level though, and some say his movements aren't smooth enough and look a bit clunky. With his long legs, he seals off the bottom of the net quite well and slams his five-hole shut in the blink of an eye, but while his recovery speed looks remarkable, some say he needs to be quicker in this area for the pros. He exhibits prime positioning, and makes adjustments to stay square to the puck at all times.

The bad points about his game are considered to be mostly nitpicking, though he will need a while to develop. There's a perception that he gets beaten by a higher number of long-range shots than normal- strange, considering his tracking abilities. The most common critique seems to be that he can look scrambly in his net, meaning that he needs better poise and concentration and would do better with improved footwork. He needs better confidence in his technique, and has trouble improvising when it breaks down. As with most goalies of his age, Gidlof is quite raw- but he has a solid enough foundation of skills that many believe he has NHL-starter potential. I'm gonna put him between the third round, and the fifth.

[flamesgod]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

I don’t like the way he uses his linemates or the way he coughs up the puck, I still think he’ll end up a winger in the NHL.

Interesting, I haven’t watched him enough to form a good opinion on him myself. Read lots about him. Thanks for sharing your opinion.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

I don’t like the way he uses his linemates or the way he coughs up the puck, I still think he’ll end up a winger in the NHL.

Wait, you think Tij will be a centre and Lindstrom a winger?

[Fan69]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Wait, you think Tij will be a centre and Lindstrom a winger?

Ya i have trouble seeing that myself. If Lindstrom doesnt have the high end vision and passing to be a top line center; if you get him decent to good at face offs you have a big great skating bottom six center with a great shot. That is also something we need but it would be a slight disappointment if he didn’t end up being a middle or top six center.

I think he has the skills to be top six all day, but bottom six as a floor. Still an excellent extremely useful player especially since he comes with some snarl.