NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers prospect Cayden Lindstrom looks to pass the puck in the neutral zone in the first period of the Tigers 6-1 loss to the Winnipeg Ice on Jan. 1.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Cayden Lindstrom is very humble about his 2021-22 season.
The 16-year-old described his year with the Delta Hockey Academy U17 team as “good” after Delta captured the CSSHL U17 championship.
He said it was nice capturing that title and getting to do so alongside fellow Tigers prospect Tomas Mrsic.
“Everything went well, we went undefeated through the whole tournament and the boys were doing good,” Lindstrom said. “… It’s awesome being drafted with him here and playing with him. Hopefully we can get a couple shifts together, play on a line together; it’ll be good.”
Lindstrom, recalled by the Tigers on Thursday, and Mrsic may not play on a line together in the team’s remaining seven games, but both will be large parts of future plans for the Tabbies.
In 31 games with Delta, Lindstrom put up 25 goals and 60 points and kept that production going in the playoffs, scoring seven goals and 19 points.
The Tigers drafted the Chetwynd, B.C. product 54th overall in the Dec. 2021 draft and signed him to a WHL deal Dec. 30.
He donned the orange and black for two games, making his debut on Dec. 30 against Calgary before facing the Winnipeg Ice on Jan. 1.
“It’s definitely way faster out here, everyone’s smarter,” Lindstrom said.
Lindstrom joins Mrsic and some of the Tigers’ other prospects Hunter St. Martin, Shane Smith and Josh Van Mulligen who have joined the main roster as the season works to a close.
Associate coach Joe Frazer said he’s looking for Lindstrom to learn what he’ll need to work on over the summer in this final stretch with the team, and referenced former Tiger Cole Sillinger’s first stint in Medicine Hat.
“Just getting him that experience, we were talking to Sillinger the other day and he said how important it was for him to come up as an 15-year-old,” Frazer said. “He played a couple games for us and what the most important thing was just realizing how much time and energy he had to put into the weight room to get ready for his 16-year-old year. When you look at the young guys, it’s for them to know what they have to do over the summer. That’s the biggest thing. You have to get faster, stronger, have to work on your shot all that stuff and so having him up here, that’s what they have to learn. Recognizing how much work they have to put in this summer to make sure they have a great season next year.”
Lindstrom said he has to work on moving the puck quicker and getting his feet moving quicker over the summer. One change he’s had to make since being recalled was his jersey number from 28 to 25. In his first stint in the orange and black, he donned No. 28, which now hangs on the back of Logan Barlage.
When asked if he would give up the number in exchange for a Rolex watch like is custom in the National Hockey League, Barlage laughed and declined.
“I’ll just take him under my wing as much as I can,” Barlage said.
Since being acquired by the Tigers at the Jan. 17 trade deadline from the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Barlage has provided a veteran presence to the young lineup, something he said he’s taking pride in.
“Just have to show them what the league is all about, stuff that they can learn from me and stuff that I can take from them too,” Barlage said.
The 20-year-old will play his final game in Lethbridge on Friday in the first game of the Tigers’ home-and-home series with the Hurricanes.
Barlage said he’s excited to head back to Enmax Centre for the final time.
“They’re big points for Lethbridge so we definitely want to knock them off and take away those points from them,” Barlage said.
The Tigers hit the weekend on the heels of a 3-2 loss Wednesday night in Calgary against the Hitmen that snapped their three game goalless streak. Frazer said the Tigers owe it to Barlage to pick up a win against his former team and said they have to be ready to go against the Hurricanes.
“We know they are going to come hard, the crowd will be lively, they’re pushing for a playoff spot, so we know they are going to come out hard,” Frazer said.
When the two game series returns to Co-op Place Saturday, the Tigers will be honouring longtime broadcaster Bob Ridley pre-game with a special banner. Frazer said it’s great to see him be honoured and said he is glad to call him a friend.
“He’s just a special, special person to this organization and the hockey world, we’re so fortunate that he’s a Tiger and we get to have him to ourselves,” Frazer said. “…He’s a great friend, I feel very grateful to have gotten to know him.”
