Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Canes prospect profile: Elias Lindholm

July 16, 2013, 11:06 AM ET [10 Comments]
Matt Karash
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Elias Lindholm officially inked his entry-level deal yesterday afternoon. The team web site has video of media Q&A with him and Jim Rutherford at the signing. Biggest takeaway was Jim Rutherford seemed very confident that Lindholm would be playing at the NHL level this season.

I regularly (and justifiably) get accused of being long-winded, so here is the real short version for Elias Lindholm:

--For the first 20 games of 2013-14, I hope for 2000-01 Josef Vasicek. Vasicek was similarly plugged into 3C role at a very young age and given the target of being defensively sound and getting his line on and off the ice without incident. He/his line held their own and successfully pushed game decisions to the top 2 lines which won enough games to make the playoffs.

--For the remaining 60 games of 2013-14, I hope for 2011-12 Brandon Sutter. After entering the NHL, Sutter grew very quickly to become a very good 3rd line center defensively and was a difference-maker in games despite being light on scoring.

--For the future (looking out 3-4 years), I hope for Henrik Zetterberg – a solid top line center who is solid in all aspects of the game and the type of player that wins games for you. Look at the two 2013 NHL finalists. Both featured top centers who were great 2-way players that win hockey games not just rack up scoring points. Those hopes are obviously incredibly high, but with his pedigree, they should be within reach, but especially with the last one Canes fans need to have some patience. That is NOT a 2013-14 target.

If you want to stop reading now, you can give me credit for my shortest blog ever. 

For those who want to cut to the chase on the rest of my comments on Lindholm, feel free to skip past my trip down memory lane by skipping the stuff between my trip down Hurricanes memory lane between the ******.

****************************************************************************
Quick Canes trivia? Boden, Sweden. What is the relevance in Canes history? Those focused on the here and now and up to date on the recent NHL draft will note that Boden is the birth place of Canes #5 pick Elias Lindholm. But those with a longer memory and head for Canes trivia will also remember a previous Swedish Canes draftee who played a big part in Canes history and to this day is among the most loved former Canes. That player is of course Niclas Wallin. Interestingly, Wallin also played for Brynas in the Swedish Elite League just like Lindholm.

Niclas Wallin arrived with much less fanfare than Elias Lindholm. He was drafted as a 25-year-old veteran in the 4th round. The hope was that because of his level of experience he could develop into a decent NHL depth defenseman fairly quickly. And that is exactly what happened. He made his NHL debut that same year and grew to become a solid 3rd pairing defenseman soon thereafter. And over the course of his career, that is mostly the role he stayed in – that of a solid 3rd pairing defenseman who could step into a #4 slot on occasion to fill time. Jay Harrison is almost a dead-ringer for the role that Wallin filled for many years in a Canes uniform. But his role in Canes history is much greater than that of your run of the mill depth defenseman. His name is etched all over some key moments in Canes history. He is 1 of only 2 players to play in all 4 playoff series since the team moved to Raleigh (2001, 2002, 2006, 2009). (Rod Brind’Amour is the other.) And along the way he scored the overtime game-winner in the “Miracle at Molson” propelling the Canes to a win in one of the greatest games in Canes history. He followed that up with another overtime game-winner in game 2 of the next round versus Toronto and was subsequently dubbed “The Secret Weapon.” In addition to his on-ice contributions to Canes history, he also became a fan favorite because of his affable personality that worked even better coming out from his big, burly Barney Rubble-ish exterior and the fine job that Canes broadcasters John Forslund and Tripp Tracy did bringing Niclas Wallin the person and personality to the fan base. Most #5/6 NHL defensemen come and go to be forgotten soon after they are gone. But the day (if it happens) that Niclas Wallin appears at a 2006 reunion ceremony on PNC Arena ice or when visiting, he will be remembered and cheered by the Carolina Hurricanes fan base who remember.
****************************************************************************

Getting back to Elias Lindholm and the 2013-14 Carolina Hurricanes.

My visual scouting of prospects mostly starts when a player gets on the ice in a Canes uniform in Raleigh. I have read a ton about Elias Lindholm and have watched a handful of Youtube videos like many others, but for me to try to write my own formal evaluation would mostly just pull from reports by those who have watched him much more. So allow me to do 2 things: 1) Provide links to a few of the better scouting-type reports that I have read; 2) Talk a bit about where Elias Lindholm likely fits in the 2013-14 Carolina Hurricanes equation.

If Swedish hockey fans who were lucky enough to watch Elias Lindholm in Brynas last year could chime in with their thoughts on his 2012-13 season (and previous) either here or on Twitter, it would be much appreciated.

Lindholm enters the camp as a frontrunner to start the season somewhere in the top 9 forwards either playing his natural center position on the 3rd line or possibly shifting to right wing either on the 2nd or 3rd line. With the Canes 3rd line failing to produce in 2012-13 and veteran forwards Jokinen, Larose and Brent on the way out, there really is no one in front of him. The only ways that Lindholm would not make the team is if he just does not look physically ready to play in the NHL yet, but that seems doubtful. I put it at 90% probability that Lindholm starts the year in Raleigh with the small hedge simply because he has not played in even an NHL preseason game yet to see how he adjusts.

We will start seeing a bunch of comments and evaluations of Lindholm with prospect camp being this week, but I do not think it is possible to get a real read on his readiness until In training camp (scrimmage type stuff) and preseason games. (Remember that this week is against similar age players many of whom will never play in the NHL.) My focus in training cap will be on trying to assess whether Lindholm looks comfortable in the NHL game. As a center, the biggest challenge for young European players is often that at the same time the pressure gets greater (faster players, bigger bodies, higher skill level opponents), the rink gets smaller leaving less room to maneuver, find passing lanes, etc. So I am looking for poise with the puck on his stick, willingness to engage and win physical battles in smaller spaces and general comfort level with the NHL game. Lindholm played against grown men/professionals in the Swedish Elite League last season, so my hope and expectation is that he can adapt rapidly. But there is still a transition to playing in the NHL.

With that, here are a couple of the better scouting report/evaluation type of write-ups that I read along the way in trying to get up to speed on Elias Lindholm:

From Brandon Worley’s Defending Big D blog on SBNation:

Defending Big D – Lindholm evaluation

Notes: Strong in face-off circle, multiple mentions of 2-way play.

From the Carolina Hurricanes web site:

Elias Lindholm profile by Michael Smith on Canes web site

Notes: Common Peter Forsberg comparison comes up, “high compete level” and the common mention of hockey smarts.

For a quick heads up when I post a blog and/or to get a quick Twitter-length comment, please follow me on Twitter at CarolinaMatt63.

Go Canes!
Join the Discussion: » 10 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Matt Karash
» Maple Leafs and Hurricanes: Comparison in rebuilding strategies
» Snarly Hurricanes vs. Flyers match up set for Saturday
» Canes treading water - Will they eventually drown or swim?
» Solid first half of week tees 'make up' time at home for the weekend
» Hurricanes at Red Wings -- Canes look claw even for road trip