Prospect Info: Cayden Lindstrom

[Viqsi]

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

Or it could be set off by fans' lack of faith in his ability to heal.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Or it could be set off by fans' lack of faith in his ability to heal.

He's like Tinkerbell!

 

[koteka]

Or it could be set off by fans' lack of faith in his ability to heal.

I am going to write a screen play about a young Canadian kid who finds a magic lamp. He releases a genie trapped inside, and the genie grants him one wish. Being a good Canadian lad, his wish is to be a great hockey player. The genie grants his wish, but says he will only stay healthy if the fans believe he will stay healthy. Otherwise he will be injured. I will call it “The Ryan Murray Story” and I will try to sell it to the Paramount network.

 

[stevo61]

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.

Yeah so many weird effects can happen in the aftermath as it's all a kinetic chain. For me it was super weird for a long time, like I couldn't even straighten my legs on when sitting for months. Not pain but more like something shortened and I simply couldnt force my legs straight. One of the most annoying things for me was it made my gait weird which probably slowed down the process significantly and also strange walking for too long caused major pain but I could go run 5-10km with 0 issues.

It's a difficult situation but I fully believe there is light at the end of the tunnel. I suspect he'll need to adjust his training as I did and he maybe a little nervous pushing too hard in certain area's intially as it's not a pain you ever want to experience again but eventually you regain confidence in everything.

 

[LoneFunyan]

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

I don't understand why you would have hand surgery to heal your back. This team is hopeless.

 

[Doggy]

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.

Based on his past, I predict Zach Aston-Reese will not score twenty NHL goals this season. Wanna take that bet? Does that make me "Doom & Gloom"? People make a very good living predicting the future based on the past. They are called actuaries. I would put sports advanced statisticians in that same category. You know, the ones most of the football coaches listen to when deciding whether to go for it on 4th and short. Of course they are not right every time but they are right way more than they are wrong...it's why they get paid the big bucks.

We ALL want Lindstrom to heal and never have any back issues again but being concerned his back issue could continue to trouble him throughout his career playing a very physical game is realistic...not "Doom & Gloom".

 

[Xoggz22]

I'm excited to read this thread every year to see how the progress actually goes. Surgery is not always the first option for an injury. The body is an amazing thing and given how little we actually know about this, it's possible that surgery wouldn't do anything more and then you have a different recovery path, along with, maybe, a similar time line.

 

[CalBuckeyeRob]

I'm excited to read this thread every year to see how the progress actually goes. Surgery is not always the first option for an injury. The body is an amazing thing and given how little we actually know about this, it's possible that surgery wouldn't do anything more and then you have a different recovery path, along with, maybe, a similar time line.

I think it will depend how the next 6-12 months go. If he returns without restrictions then goes out again quickly with the same problem, I think they do surgery. Much better to have that extended recovery time when he would have been playing juniors then wait until he has an NHL spot.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

What’s going on with Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Cayden Lindstrom?​

The Blue Jackets’ first pick in last summer’s draft, fourth overall, is still in Columbus. Cayden Lindstrom is working in the gym, skating on his own and rehabbing a back injury that sidelined him most of last season with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League.
Lindstrom is tentatively expected to remain in Columbus until mid-November after the Blue Jackets return from a West Coast trip. The goal is to make sure Lindstrom’s back is fully recovered by utilizing the Blue Jackets’ NHL training staff and facilities.

“We’re going to get to a point, probably, when we get back from that West Coast trip where we’ll need to make a decision about sending him back to juniors,” Waddell said. “The junior team agrees. They travel so much, so they don’t have the rehab (ability) we have. It’s best to keep him here until he’s ready to go.”

Once Lindstrom is cleared, he’ll return to practice with Medicine Hat prior to rejoining the Tigers’ lineup. Waddell said back surgery isn’t necessary and that contract discussions will pick up after his rehab is complete.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1849892411624866240

 

[AnonCommentary]

• There’s good news on Lindstrom, too. The No. 4 pick in June has been handled with kid gloves to make sure the back injury that cost him much of last season is completely healed before he returns, and it appears that is getting close … provided there are no setbacks. “He’s skating every day in full equipment,” Waddell said. “We keep pushing him harder and harder. He’s going to stay in Columbus and skate while the team is on the road trip. We’ll see where he is when we get back. If there are no setbacks, we’ll probably look to send him back to his junior team.” That news will be well-received in southeast Alberta, home to Lindstrom’s junior club, Medicine Hat of the Western Hockey League. • Lindstrom will continue skating with Blue Jackets coaches, but he’s not permitted to skate with the team until he’s signed to a contract. And what about that contract? Waddell indicated earlier this summer he’d be signed before or during training camp, but that was put on hold because he wasn’t able to take part. Here’s Waddell on the latest plan for Lindstrom’s entry-level deal: “The agent (Daren Hermiston) and I have continued to talk,” Waddell said. “We’ve agreed: Let’s get him back, let’s get him playing. They’re not pushing (for a deal), we’re not pushing. At some point, when he starts getting ready to play or maybe he’s played a few games, we’ll get him signed. The contract is a relatively easy contract to do.”

 

[Aaaarrgghh]

The west coast road trip is over. It's mid-November. I hope to see news of Lindstrom being recovered and on his way back to Medicine Hat soon.

 

[ViD]

Not sure about you, but I am not particularly happy about our number 4 pick still not playing in mid November and likely missing half a season at the very least

 

[ThirdPeriodTurtle]

I think I share the above sentiment in the sense that it's worrying it's taking so long.

But I rather they do it right, which kind of seems like they might be doing, so I'm onboard with that. (The other option is that it's much more serious than we've been let on, and that's the worrying part.)

If Lindstrom is a great player for us in 2028, that's great. I don't really care how we get there, and I don't necessarily think losing a year of "development" is all that crucial in the end. It's not linear anyway and maybe a little rest and time off does some folks good and actually accelerates development when he gets out of the daily grind for a bit, hopefully Lindstrom is one of them.

 

[koteka]

Personally, I like the slow approach of the new regime. Let’s wait a long time for the back to heal. Let’s leave Mateychuk in Cleveland. The old regime would be calling up Del Bel Belluz and bouncing him between 2nd line wing and 3rd line center with no real plan for his development given his 11 points and 6 goals in 12 AHL games this season.