NEWS FILE PHOTO
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Cayden Lindstrom skates ahead of puck drop for Game 1 of the Tigers first-round series against the Red Deer Rebels on March 29. The Tigers lost 5-4 in double overtime.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Las Vegas experience has already surpassed Cayden Lindstrom’s expectations, and the Medicine Hat Tigers forward’s shining moment still awaits.
Lindstrom and family are in Vegas ahead of the first day of the NHL Draft tonight, with the Chetwynd, B.C. product a projected top-five pick.
He spoke briefly with the News from Vegas and says it was a positive feeling just being in the city ahead of the draft.
“It’s feeling great, you dream of this as a kid, and just being here in Vegas is really surreal, all the bright lights and everything like that,” Lindstrom said.
Lindstrom had a spotlight first half of the season with the Tigers, putting up 27 goals and 46 points in 32 games. He missed the entire second half with undisclosed upper body injuries that have since been released as a broken hand and a herniated disc in his back.
He returned for the Tigers’ playoffs, scoring a goal and notching an assist while playing in four of their five postseason games in the round-one loss to the Red Deer Rebels.
The 18-year-old’s injury status was a long talking point in Medicine Hat throughout the second half of the season as fans yearned to see the star forward return. Come draft time, there has been a lot of discussion around his future and how his back injury specifically could play into where he is selected.
Lindstrom and his camp attended the NHL draft combine and provided teams with his medical records, and the forward says he’s in full health and ready to take the next step of his career.
“I’m ready to go, I’m training five days a week on the ice, three to four times a week training hard,” Lindstrom said. “I know my body and I know how I’m feeling so it’s not hard at all.”
If he does end up picked in the top five, he would be the first Tigers player selected inside the top-10 since defenceman Cam Barker in 2004 to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Medicine Hat hasn’t officially had a player drafted in the first round since forward Hunter Shinkaruk was taken 24th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in 2013. Forward Cole Sillinger was drafted 12th overall in 2021 but was announced as a member of the Sioux Falls Stampede.
It’s a stretch of non-appearances by the Tigers that will be broken by Lindstrom and potentially by linemate Andrew Basha, who is projected to be picked late in the first or early in the second round. Being picked that high is something Lindstrom says he’s still trying to comprehend and accept.
“I’m just kind of taking it all in, I’m really grateful for the position I’m in,” Lindstrom said. “It’s been a great experience so far.”
The first round of the NHL Draft gets underway tonight at 5 p.m. MST with rounds two through seven getting started Saturday at 9:30 a.m.
