F Cayden Lindstrom - Medicine Hat Tigers, WHL (2024, 4th, CBJ)

[Dr Quincy]

Doctors typically don't approach this sort of issue in terms of absolute certainties. It's about probabilities. I know that's a little highbrow for us here where it would probably be considered dodging responsibility, but if a doctor says "90% chance that he won't surgery", and then he needs surgery, that doesn't mean those doctors are fools and that your cousin Cleetus who has back problems is the smart one.

My cousin Cleetus wouldn't pull a number like "90% chance" out of his rectum like you did.

But sure, pretend like this hasn't been an unexpected set back if it makes you feel better. My great-aunt Louise went to a shrink once, so she'd know enough to call that coping by denial.

 

[The411]

No offense but you're also not a professional athlete with a professional hockey teams medical staff either.

I'm gonna trust CBJs doctors until I shouldn't at this point. Hes the type of prospect you do this for.

No offense but you're also not a professional athlete with a professional hockey teams medical staff either.

I'm gonna trust CBJs doctors until I shouldn't at this point. Hes the type of prospect you do this for.

My point was that I have a narrow spinal column defect. It’s extremely difficult to have a disc issue at 18 absent an acute trauma or a some sort of genetic issue.

 

[Aaaarrgghh]

Do you think those actual doctors told the team that he'd still be out right now? I doubt it. So in other words, those actual doctors were wrong. Doesn't mean he won't come back, but you are being dishonest if you are saying that the team knew he'd still be missing time at this point.

No, they didn't. If you read his quotes from the article, you'll see that the doctors thought that he didn't need any surgery. In the end, he did. But it's a surgery with a high recovery rate. So it's a setback but not a catastrophic one.

 

[Rasp]

At the time, however, the Blue Jackets thought Lindstrom’s injury could heal without surgery.

They already admitted they made a mistake by saying they though it could be healed without surgery.

I really hope he can get through it and have a good career but he is going to be feeling it worse and worse as he ages.

 

[samsagat]

Lindstrom is a unicorn according to NHL standards.

A unicorn with a bad back

 

[Palmu]

Kind of pointless conversation going on here as nobody knows anything for sure. Eventho some people here are saying for sure that he won't play again.

He can make full recovery and play next 15years without any problems. Or maybe it will get worse and he retires at age of 20.

 

[rahad]

What if Demidov like Michkov had no interest in playing for the Jackets/Ducks and fell to Montreal for that reason ? Philly and Montreal are massive hockey markets.

False. Unlike Michkov, Demidov did not do secret interview or anything. He and his agent did come to the training comp and speak with every team. His contract has also one year only vs 3 for Michkov.

I'M surprise Columbus did not take Demidov or Tij. With his back problem, i has sure Lot of GM would have been scared to draft him this high.

 

[frontsfan67]

Career injury issues for this guy... back problems are recurrent. If at 18-19 he has this condition, I can't imagine what it will be in his late 20's... Should have never went in the top 10 imo. Can't believe he got drafted before Ivan Demidov...

Remember when almost everyone thought this guy should’ve went above sennecke?

Even if Lindstrom does get fully healthy and have a nice long NHL career(hopefully he does) he shouldn’t have went as high as he did due to his health. Back problems are a big red flag it’s not a broken finger or hand or arm that players recover from- back problems are usually a lingering issue and it’s kept him out so far for his whole DY+1 season so to put into perspective not only does he have back problems but he hasn’t even developing AT ALL this year so far

Definitely will be back next year with Medicine Hat when they go for the mem cup as it returns out west with Kelowna hosting

And knowing this, would you still draft him 4th overall ? I would presume most Gm wouldn't today, imo.

Short answer: No
Long(er) answer: Hell no

 

[CBJWerenski8]

To the topic of lindstrom the player rather than Lindstrom the draft pick, this is around the time he was supposed to be “recovered” from his surgery from a month and a half ago, and able to resume some sort of activity. Perhaps he’s working out off ice, but we’ve heard nothing since this surgery. That has the cynic in me concerned that the pain has not subsided.

 

[Dr Quincy]

He was "day to day" in September and "90%" in November. I think the team would be better off not commenting until he's actually back. I think that might be why there hasn't been an update. No sense saying he's training. Wait until he's ready to play, hopefully soon.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Teams prefer to go for big power forwards every chance they get. And fans on HF don't understand it. We have these debates year after year. We invent wild theories to try and explain why a team took a huge power forward, we just can't imagine why a team would drool over a guy like Lindstrom. It's really not a mystery.

And while the nifty skilled forwards are the most fun to follow as prospects, if you look at the playoffs every year, it’s kind of easy to see why teams are constantly chasing big forwards that skate well and have skill. Insanely hard to find. Immensely valuable if you do. High risk (often), high reward.

 

[Dumais]

Lindstrom is a unicorn according to NHL standards.

A unicorn with a bad back

He could make a full recovery, and not develop properly because of time missed. Maybe he comes back fully, becomes that unicorn (Mario or early Lindros) and demands a trade like PLD / Jiricek did. Or maybe he doesn't recover at all, goes to college and never plays another hockey game ever again.

Hard to say what happens to an 18 year old. But CBJ has a chance at a unicorn, and I'm glad they got that lottery ticket. Mario had a nagging back injury too if IIRC.

 

[viceroy]

...he's gonna take some time to truly get into game shape, and I'm sure they are gonna ease him into it. Making sure if there's any discomfort that they don't push it.

Like I said it's not the injury as per se that troubles me, it's the crucial D, D+1 playing time he lost that worries me. Hoping for the best.

 

[Halakitlikethat]

I’m gutted for this kid. Watching him in person last season you could tell he is just nasty. Hopefully he can recover from this.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

He could make a full recovery, and not develop properly because of time missed. Maybe he comes back fully, becomes that unicorn (Mario or early Lindros) and demands a trade like PLD / Jiricek did. Or maybe he doesn't recover at all, goes to college and never plays another hockey game ever again.

Hard to say what happens to an 18 year old. But CBJ has a chance at a unicorn, and I'm glad they got that lottery ticket. Mario had a nagging back injury too if IIRC.

I like how all of your scenarios the CBJ get f***ed. Like according to you there’s no chance at a positive outcome for them.

 

[Dumais]

I like how all of your scenarios the CBJ get f***ed. Like according to you there’s no chance at a positive outcome for them.

Well, I am glad they picked him, because best case scenario CBJ gets a unicorn. Not many teams have (get) a chance at one.

Maybe it's the tone of the thread, or maybe it's the fact I've been a CBJ fan for too long and maybe you have been reading too many posts about CBJ.

No worries though.

 

[Cowumbus]

Has this been shared here?

 

[Leafshater67]

Even at the time, I’m not so sure I would have picked him at 4, especially with Demidov on the board but I respect the pick then and now. The health is a big deal but when this kid is playing, he’s got the it factor written all over him. He’s big, strong, athletic and skilled. If he and Adam Fantilli pan out, they’d have two good centres with skill and size to go 1-2 up the lineup.

Look at a team like Detroit when they reached for the guy they wanted in Seider. A lot of people hated it but he had a lot of upside and he hit. If you always pick the safe picks, you’ll miss out on that extra level that was hidden behind some risk. The habs picking Reinbacher over Michkov is an example of that.

Sucks he may be out for the year but it’s good to not rush him either. Don’t want a Nolan Patrick situation.

 

[majormajor]

Even at the time, I’m not so sure I would have picked him at 4, especially with Demidov on the board but I respect the pick then and now. The health is a big deal but when this kid is playing, he’s got the it factor written all over him. He’s big, strong, athletic and skilled. If he and Adam Fantilli pan out, they’d have two good centres with skill and size to go 1-2 up the lineup.

Look at a team like Detroit when they reached for the guy they wanted in Seider. A lot of people hated it but he had a lot of upside and he hit. If you always pick the safe picks, you’ll miss out on that extra level that was hidden behind some risk. The habs picking Reinbacher over Michkov is an example of that.

In comparison to the Seider or Reinbacher type of situation, I'm confident that if he stayed healthy he would have been a top two pick, as I've argued above. And that even with the injury in consideration, if the Jackets took Demidov 4th (as I hoped they would), then I don't think Lindstrom makes it past 5 or 6.

I don't like the term "reach" the way most HFers use it, because it ignores the actual scouting work that teams do and turns the supposed consensus into something more than it is (teams lists in general don't look anything like the public lists or supposed consensus.) But if I may borrow the popular HF conception of "reach", Seider and Reinbacher fit it and Lindstrom does not. Lindstrom was more of a wanted universal prospect.

Sucks he may be out for the year but it’s good to not rush him either. Don’t want a Nolan Patrick situation.

The original hope with the microdiscectomy would be that Lindstrom would be back in a few months, so it's possible it didn't resolve the issue.

 

[FlyguyOX]

Has this been shared here?

WOW

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Missing a full season after he missed a significant amount with the injury last season is really tough for a 4OA. Not to say it can’t be overcome, but I don’t think if you knew this set of facts that he’d even have been considered in the top 10. For a true elite level prospect, sure. Not someone who might or might not be and also now has major injury concerns on top of the hockey concerns.

 

[wetcoast]

False. Unlike Michkov, Demidov did not do secret interview or anything. He and his agent did come to the training comp and speak with every team. His contract has also one year only vs 3 for Michkov.

I'M surprise Columbus did not take Demidov or Tij. With his back problem, i has sure Lot of GM would have been scared to draft him this high.

The Black Hawks should have taken Demidov.

 

[The Last Red]

Even at the time, I’m not so sure I would have picked him at 4, especially with Demidov on the board but I respect the pick then and now. The health is a big deal but when this kid is playing, he’s got the it factor written all over him. He’s big, strong, athletic and skilled. If he and Adam Fantilli pan out, they’d have two good centres with skill and size to go 1-2 up the lineup.

Look at a team like Detroit when they reached for the guy they wanted in Seider. A lot of people hated it but he had a lot of upside and he hit. If you always pick the safe picks, you’ll miss out on that extra level that was hidden behind some risk. The habs picking Reinbacher over Michkov is an example of that.

Sucks he may be out for the year but it’s good to not rush him either. Don’t want a Nolan Patrick situation.

The Seider comparison is not great because that was a very weak first round. Demidov was there for the taking . . .

 

[rahad]

The Black Hawks should have taken Demidov.

i agreed with you. But Levshunov is not a bad prospect to have. RHD is hard to find. Is more like Columbus should have drafted Demidov. Fantilli and Demidov would have been a great duo in Columbus. They took a prospect with back problem at the age of 18.

 

[GaboriklessWild]

If I were Columbus I would rather not give this guy a contract and opt for the compensation 2nd round draft pick