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Dennis Schellenberg The Hockey Writers

Published on Saturday, April 2, 2016

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Ryan Lindgren – The Next Ones: NHL 2016 Draft Prospect Profile

Ryan Lindgren

2015-16 Team: U.S. National U18 Team (#18)

Date of birth: 2/11/1998

Place of birth: Minneapolis, USA

Ht:  6’0 Wt: 196

Shoots: Left

Position: D

NHL Draft Eligibility: 2016 1st year eligible

THW Pikes Picks: 48

Twitter: @Lindiesal

Other Rankings

  • Future Considerations: 55
  • The Draft Analyst: 76
  • DraftSite: 37

***

Lindgren living up to the NTDP values

Minneapolis, Minnesota-native Ryan Lindgren played his second season in the NTDP and has collected 19 points, which exactly matches his number from his first season.

Lindgren is a typical defenceman of the NTDP and lives up to their values of determination, hard work, strength and power. I would describe him rather as a defensive minded defender who has some offensive upsides though, especially on the powerplay where he can play an important puckmoving role as he distributes the puck with accuracy and uses his hard shot from the point.

Lindgren is extremely hard to beat in puck battles as he uses his strength and skating balance to stay balanced on his skates. He does own board battles and is physically strong. He likes to battle in front of the net and keeps opponents successfully away from scoring on rebounds. He displays a good defensive understanding of the game and does not commit a lot of mistakes when carrying the puck.

Lindgren is a strong skater and possesses powerful strides which he can use to outskate opponents not only with his decent top speed but also with his powerful skating style. Although he focuses on his own zone game, he does have some offensive upside as well. He does join rushes from time to time to generate odd-man rushes. Lindgren uses an active stick to keep the puck alive in the offensive zone and closes the gap along the boards to keep the puck in the offensive zone. When he carries the puck he is very calm and matured and does not panic or give the puck away easily.

Lindgren is showing good leadership skills. He has captained the U.S. U18 team in International tournaments and communicates well on the ice.

NHL Draft Projection:

As of now I would say that Lindgren will most likely be selected somewhere around mid to late second round or early third round. There are a couple of interesting defenders who are also believed to be selected around those positions, but one area where Lindgren might be ahead of most of them is his powerful skating.

Quotables:

With an excess of both natural talent and strength, Lindgren possesses a powerful stride that gets him down the ice alarmingly fast for such a hulking skater. That said, we hesitate to call him ‘explosive’. Instead, Lindgren grits his teeth and simply makes things happen all over the ice with force of will. With a hell of a shot and maturity far ahead of his years, Lindgren has the strength to make forwards regret crossing him and the ability to keep the puck away from them on retrievals.

-Scouts at overtheboards.com

American born defender with good feet and a solid two way game. Not tall, but solidly built, he displays poise in his own end and smarts with, or without the puck. His four direction skating ability gives him an advantage as both a defender (who can handle one on ones and retrieve the quick dump-ins rapidly) and as an attacker (who can smartly read his options, and make astute decisions as a passer or carrier). A solid six footer who has a bit of an edge to go along with the top flight acceleration, nice vision, and an active stick when defending. He is good with the puck in the attack zone and has a good point shot. Very calm and decisive when on the ice, and always seems to make the smart play in all zones.

-Bill Placzek, Draftsite.com

Statistics:

Strengths:

  • Powerful strides
  • Skating balance
  • Powerful shot from the point
  • Leadership skills
  • Defensive understanding of the game
  • Active stick

Under Construction (Improvements to Make):

  • Could use his powerful shot more often
  • Has to grow into a more offensive role

NHL Potential:

Lindgren has the potential to become a solid stay-at-home defender at NHL-level who plays a solid defensive minded game using his strong defensive awareness. He also has the potential to grow into a more offensive role with the time.

NHL comparison: Brent Seabrook

Risk-Reward Analysis: 

Risk: 2/5   Reward: 3/5

Fantasy Hockey Potential:

Offensive = 4/10   Defensive = 8/10

Awards/Achievements

2014/2015: U17 WHC Silver Medal

Interview/Profile Links:

Ryan Lindgren Ready to Lead in Year Two

Scouting Report from U18 Five Nations

Video:

Shots From the Slot (Interesting Notes):

The Lindgren’s are hockey family through and through. Father Bob as well as brother Charlie both played at NCAA level. Both have been goaltenders, Bob for the University of Michigan back in 1985 and brother Charlie played for the St. Cloud State University until he was signed by the Montreal Canadiens this week. Ryan breaks the tradition of goaltending Lindgren’s at NCAA-level, though he possibly is the most talented one of the family.

***

THW’s The Next Ones prospect profile template design architect: Chris Ralph


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