NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Cadyen Lindstrom celebrates the eventual game winning goal while skating by the bench of the Swift Current Broncos in a 4-3 playoff clinching victory on March 25 at Co-op Place.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Cayden Lindstrom was able to check off one of his preseason goals for his first Western Hockey League season.
On Thursday the 17-year-old Medicine Hat Tigers rookie forward was announced as the WHL’s Central division rookie of the year and is one of four players nominated for the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the WHL rookie of the year.
“That was obviously one of my goals from the start of this season, just reaching that goal is a pretty cool accomplishment to have,” Lindstrom said.
The Chetwynd, B.C. product had 19 goals and 42 points in 61 games while donning the black and orange, putting him in ninth for rookie scoring in the league. The other nominees include Vancouver Giants forward Samuel Honzek who had 18 goals and 58 points in 58 games, Prince Albert Raiders forward Ryder Ritchie who put up 20 goals and 55 points in 61 games and 2021 first overall pick forward Berkley Catton of the Spokane Chiefs, who had 23 goals and 55 points in 63 games.
Lindstrom, who was selected 54th overall by the Tigers in the 2021 draft, started the season with a couple of healthy scratches while Medicine Hat figured out their lines before earning himself a full-time role at both centre and on the power play.
He also represented Canada at the U17 World Hockey Championships held in Delta, B.C. in early November. He had two goals and four points in six games in the tournament while playing for Canada White, one of the country’s three teams.
Having set the goal ahead of the season to be one of the best rookies in the league, Lindstrom says reaching that level only helps his confidence.
“I’m always just working on the confidence because some days it’s not there and some days it is,” Lindstrom said. “But when I set a goal, I work as hard as I can to reach that goal and accomplish it. So that’s a big part.”
He’s the third Tiger to receive a nomination for a league award this season. On Tuesday head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins was nominated for both the coach of the year and executive of the year awards. In press releases announcing the nominations, the WHL says the Tigers’ turnaround from an 11-win season to 30 victories this year earned him the Dunc McCallum memorial coach of the year nomination, and that same turnaround paired with drafting Lindstrom and 15-year-old Gavin McKenna and adding veterans Dallon Melin and Kurtis Smythe, was his Lloyd Saunders memorial executive of the year nomination ticket.
On Thursday Tigers forward Andrew Basha was nominated for the league’s most sportsmanlike award. The 17-year-old finished third in Medicine Hat scoring with 20 goals and 56 points in 67 games while only totalling 18 penalty minutes.
The other nominees were Kamloops Blazers forward Caedan Bankier who had 31 goals, 85 points and 23 penalty minutes in 57 games; Moose Jaw Warriors forward Brayden Yager with 28 goals and 78 points in 67 games with 14 penalty minutes; and Portland Winterhawks captain Gabe Klassen who amassed 30 penalty minutes while putting up 35 goals and 69 points in 64 games.
Basha was honoured to be compared alongside other top players in the WHL.
“To get recognized with a few of the league’s best is really cool and some great hockey players received the nomination as well,” Basha said. “It’s huge to see some more work pay off and have some recognition for my play. It’s really exciting for me.”
The WHL’s coach and executive of the year award winners will be announced May 3, the most sportsmanlike player announced May 4 and rookie of the year declared on May 9.
