Prospect Info: Cayden Lindstrom

[KJ Dangler]

Some notes

1. This was planned apparently. Even if he was cleared he wasn’t going to play.
2. Won’t be sent back to juniors until he can play.
3. Contract will be signed in training camp. Lindstroms side wants it done. Waddell wants to wait. But has promised them he will offer the ELC at camp.

I still can’t believe we drafted Lindstrom with the back issues over Demidov . I get the need for center , Demidov however was too good to pass on . Montreal has to be loving Waddell these days. By fall , he will have missed nearly a year of development . Hoping it passes , as CBJ Werenski said , watching him walk up the steps when we picked him makes me nervous

 

[Jovavic]

Lindstrom with his back issue would've been a good pick at like 7 or 8, at 4 you need to crush it and get damn near a sure thing and he's not. Who knows, maybe it'll all sort itself out and he'll enjoy a long career of being an impact player but I really doubt it, hope I'm wrong.

 

[squashmaple]

I'm not worried. I'd much prefer this to them pretending he's fine, rushing him back like he's fine, and then have him suffer a major setback. There's no reason to hurry. He's 18 and the team is going nowhere before he's 20.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Waddell’s selected Lindstrom despite the back issue still healing and multiple opposing GMs extending trade offers for the pick.

“We had all the MRIs, our doctor talked to his doctor and we had all the images,” Waddell said. “We had everything. I’ve talked personally to the doctor, and there are no long-term concerns at all. It’s just getting it where he feels very comfortable twisting, turning and doing all that stuff. But there’s no reason to put him in contact in Buffalo, because that’s not going to prove anything.”

https://x.com/i/web/status/1828497510115221659

 

[ThirdPeriodTurtle]

Safe is good but gotta admit it's getting to the nervous territory. Hopefully it really is a "one and done" kind of a thing and it will be fully healed when he finally takes the ice.

 

[majormajor]

My view was that he was such a good athlete, such an incredible prospect, that I'd have him top five even if there were lingering back issues. But yes it sucks that that hypothetical is being tested.

 

[CalBuckeyeRob]

His back will never be "healed" like a fracture. It may have no symptoms, but the disk is still damaged and more susceptible to injury whenever they let him resume full activities. We all hope he manages to avoid the recurrence of the problems, but he will be at risk.

 

[AnonCommentary]

Hedger might want to double check that it was his back that’s surgically repaired. We do know for a fact that his hand injury from earlier last year was repaired. This is the first I’ve seen of the back being “surgically repaired”

 

[CBJWerenski8]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1828547913061945708

 

[KJ Dangler]

Recommended heal time for herniated disc is 3 months .. we are nearing what , 9 mos ?

 

[Cowumbus]

Did he get assigned to Medicine Hat? I can’t find any recent news

 

[EspenK]

Did he get assigned to Medicine Hat? I can’t find any recent news

This got me to thinking. He is not signed so I don't think at this point the Jackets have any real control. All they have is the right to sign him and no one else can.
If he goes back to MH he may be rushed back into action
I guess Jackets could sign him and IR him if they are confident he will be ready at some point and then send him down.

 

[Doggy]

This got me to thinking. He is not signed so I don't think at this point the Jackets have any real control. All they have is the right to sign him and no one else can.
If he goes back to MH he may be rushed back into action
I guess Jackets could sign him and IR him if they are confident he will be ready at some point and then send him down.

The CBJ specifically said they were keeping him in Columbus until he was fully ready to play hockey so that there was no impulse by MH to play him before he is 100%. Even not signed (which GMDW said would happen during camp), cannot imagine Lindstrom going against the wishes of the CBJ to play too soon in the CHL.

 

[Xoggz22]

CBJ has to reassign him, so signed or not, he's with CBJ until they say so and they've indicated they want him 100% and getting up to speed prior to returning him to JRs.

 

[CalBuckeyeRob]

Lindstrom should be fine if he just avoids any contact on the ice for the rest of his career.

 

[stevo61]

Can't wait for Lindstrom to become the beast he will eventually be and everyone saying they knew that would be the case and weren't that worried

 

[Doggy]

Can't wait for Lindstrom to become the beast he will eventually be and everyone saying they knew that would be the case and weren't that worried

I hope he becomes that beast you refer to. I am not a doctor so I am not making predictions on his recovery. However I felt there were several excellent alternatives at #4 that did not have the cloud of a potentially serious existing injury hanging over them.

 

[stevo61]

I hope he becomes that beast you refer to. I am not a doctor so I am making predictions on his recovery. However I felt there were several excellent alternatives at #4 that did not have the cloud of a potentially serious existing injury hanging over them.

I can think of 1 where it wouldn't have been a wtf moment for me. I'd rather they take the guy they want vs drafting scared.

 

[KJ Dangler]

I can think of 1 where it wouldn't have been a wtf moment for me. I'd rather they take the guy they want vs drafting scared.

You say that now … let’s see where everyone is when Demidov becomes an elite player in the league, which I think there is a pretty good chance he does .

I hope Lindstrom works out , but he’s missed what 8 mos now of development , where he’s been wrapped in bubble wrap hoping this fully heals on its own … on a franchise that continually is plagued with injury issues

 

[Monk]

I am not a doctor so I am making predictions on his recovery.

Classic HF

 

[CalBuckeyeRob]

I can think of 1 where it wouldn't have been a wtf moment for me. I'd rather they take the guy they want vs drafting scared.

Pretending a guy will be the healthy player you loved pre-injury is a huge risk, especially when you didn't get a meaningful price reduction to take him. At some point, he will return to the ice, but I expect he has back surgery before he plays any meaningful hockey in the NHL. Can he overcome that? Sure. But I prefer my players that rely on contact to not be broken before I get them recognizing that even healthy guys can break down.

 

[LetsGOJackets!!]

It is the Blue Jackets.. after 24 years of experience isn't it safe to assume(ha ha), that the organization stepped on it again? If not we will rush him into play and ruin his development.

 

[stevo61]

I don't really care if people want to be doom and gloom honestly and use the past to predict the future, if that's how you choose to live your life that's cool. But even as someone who had a very similar issue with an 8 month recovery and none of the support he's getting I still preferred him ever so slightly pre-draft.

 

[majormajor]

To clarify one thing - we don't know of Lindstrom ever hurting his back from contact.

He hurt himself lifting last winter and then had a more recent issue where he felt his skating was putting strain on his back. He's been working with a skating coach to see if he can change his stride somewhat. He is an incredibly powerful skater and has a lot of muscle at work there, I'm not surprised if there is some catchup that he needs in core or ligament strength. Or if he just always needs to be careful with his stride.

Depending on the exact nature of his injury he might not be more prone to back injury from physical contact.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Depending on the exact nature of his injury he might not be more prone to back injury from physical contact.

Right it could just be something totally random like ice skating or something that sets it off.

#mostlyjoking