After more than 13 months away from competitive hockey, Lindstrom played for Medicine Hat in Game 1 of the WHL Championship, assisting on the Tigers’ first goal — only 54 seconds into the game — and playing a regular shift in a 4-1 win over Spokane.
Lindstrom finished with a plus-1 rating, took a penalty and won 5 of 10 face-offs while centering Medicine Hat’s second line.
The Blue Jackets had two scouts on hand in Co-op Place, and several more scouts and executives watching via the internet back in Columbus and points beyond.
“Our doctor cleared him a while back, but he wanted him to have a couple of weeks, at least, of contact in practice,” Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell said. “We had a conference call on Monday and another one on Wednesday, and the doctor fully released him.
“If he feels good, he said. He sees no reason why he shouldn’t be able to play, and the kid wants to play.”
Waddell admits to being initially uneasy about Lindstrom’s return. He had told himself and others that Lindstrom most likely wasn’t going to play this year, and that was the organization’s mindset. But the more he listened to doctors and Lindstrom, he started to come around.
The original prognosis when Lindstrom went under the knife on Nov. 20 was that he could return to play in five months. It’s been nearly six, Waddell noted.
“The kid is eager to get back,” Waddell said. “It’s been a long year, and when you’re a hockey player and you don’t get to play hockey all year … that’s tough.
“He’s worked his ass off to get to this point. At the end of the day, it’s his decision. But like I said to him on the phone Wednesday, ‘We’re going to support you, Cayden. I just want you to be honest with the team, with the trainers and with us. If you feel anything at all, or if you don’t feel like you’re ready for a game, you have to be honest with us.'”
