Matt Karash: Canes prospect profile: Elias Lindholm

This guy is gonna be good. Wish the Penguins had the chance to grab him.

Nic is still one of the greatest to ever wear a Canes jersey.

Matt if you would like, you can watch all of the U 20's game online, I watched Sweden v Finland and Sweden v USA two days ago. I wish he could have gotten more ice time, although he was on the power play. Its weird how it works in U 20's, Mackinnon was playing 4th line. But he has a very high compete level, has poise, and does not throw the puck away. Side note, contrary to being smart with the puck, Filip Forsberg was making awful decisions on passes and moves and turned it over much more then I expected. Something that stood out being to me, (maybe its a hockey player thing or just common sense), but he was a very good passer, he was very good at changing the angle of his blade/stick to put himself to be nice little area passes through or around defenders.

Matt Karash: Canes prospect profile: Elias Lindholm
- CarolinaMatt63

Matt, while i'm usually optomistic and hope you're right about Lindholm, i think both Nash and Welsh are ahead of Lindholm for 3rd line ctr. Last year Nash had a pretty good run of centering a line and annoiting E.L. with that position is not realistic...YET!! If he lives up to his hype, then maybe he takes that spot, but it's just as likely he plays wing IMO.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD to seeing him sometime this week at the PNC!

Great blog and nice to see some love for swedish players.

You also had another swedish player in Canes that came from Brynäs except Lindholm and Wallin. Remember ???

Enjoy the next Zetterberg/Bäckström. Treat him well and you will get a hell of a player within a couple of years.

Matt, while i'm usually optomistic and hope you're right about Lindholm, i think both Nash and Welsh are ahead of Lindholm for 3rd line ctr. Last year Nash had a pretty good run of centering a line and annoiting E.L. with that position is not realistic...YET!! If he lives up to his hype, then maybe he takes that spot, but it's just as likely he plays wing IMO.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD to seeing him sometime this week at the PNC!
- randycane

Nash is not particularly good at offense or defense. And he centered a 3rd line that gave us almost no production. And Welsh did even less than that.

If all else fails, we turn to Nash or Welsh. But that's a pretty low bar for someone of Lindholm's alleged skills to hurdle.

Great blog and nice to see some love for swedish players.

You also had another swedish player in Canes that came from Brynäs except Lindholm and Wallin. Remember ???

Enjoy the next Zetterberg/Bäckström. Treat him well and you will get a hell of a player within a couple of years.
- Arosen74

I admit I was stumped and had to go Google it. I found 2 other Swedish Canes actually - Niklas Nordgren and Tommy Westlund. Niklas Nordgren was a pretty short footnote playing on a line with Brind'Amour and Williams for only part of the 05-06 season before being traded when the team brought in veterans.

Tommy Westlund I definitely should have remembered. He was a great penalty killer and part of a sound 4th line with Jeff Daniels and Kevyn Adams on the 2002 Cup finals team.

Nash is not particularly good at offense or defense. And he centered a 3rd line that gave us almost no production. And Welsh did even less than that.

If all else fails, we turn to Nash or Welsh. But that's a pretty low bar for someone of Lindholm's alleged skills to hurdle.
- notwalnc

All you say is true, but are you telling me a Draftee is automatically entitled to a spot on THIS team? Nash, Welsh were all over-estimated by many, but now the new superstar is getting the same treatment... when will people realize that you have to earn a spot, and until they WIN the spot they are just another PROSPECT?
Why don't you understand that "kids" develop over time and it's unpredictable whether one kid will excell, fail, or just slowly improve?
My choice for our 1st pick would have been Nichushkin, but i'm aware that JR and the scouts know a lot more than i do, so at this moment i trust their expertise... but if they didn't pick the best choice, it doesn't mean i'm a genius or they're dumb... it means drafting is a big crapshoot! Time will tell, but nobody has the final answer to who is the winner in this competition!

I admit I was stumped and had to go Google it. I found 2 other Swedish Canes actually - Niklas Nordgren and Tommy Westlund. Niklas Nordgren was a pretty short footnote playing on a line with Brind'Amour and Williams for only part of the 05-06 season before being traded when the team brought in veterans.

Tommy Westlund I definitely should have remembered. He was a great penalty killer and part of a sound 4th line with Jeff Daniels and Kevyn Adams on the 2002 Cup finals team.
- CarolinaMatt63

It was Tommy Westlund i was thinking about. A really good goalscorer and powerforward in Brynäs. Sadly not in the NHL.
Was forced to retirement due to injury.

All you say is true, but are you telling me a Draftee is automatically entitled to a spot on THIS team? Nash, Welsh were all over-estimated by many, but now the new superstar is getting the same treatment... when will people realize that you have to earn a spot, and until they WIN the spot they are just another PROSPECT?
Why don't you understand that "kids" develop over time and it's unpredictable whether one kid will excell, fail, or just slowly improve?
My choice for our 1st pick would have been Nichushkin, but i'm aware that JR and the scouts know a lot more than i do, so at this moment i trust their expertise... but if they didn't pick the best choice, it doesn't mean i'm a genius or they're dumb... it means drafting is a big crapshoot! Time will tell, but nobody has the final answer to who is the winner in this competition!
- randycane

Top 5 picks are different types of prospects than undrafted College Players, and mediocre AHL players. I think what also makes Lindholm (and Barkov and Nichushkin) a little different is they've had some success in men's leagues.

The question of "Can they hold their own against more physical men, rather than other 16 year olds?" which isn't really on the table. And it's a question that seems to have done in many of our smaller prospects. Luckily, here, it doesn't apply.