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2023 NHL Draft prospect profile: Theo Lindstein has a solid baseline and high potential

Young Theo Lindstein managed to play most of this year in the SHL with hometown club Brynäs, something which he should feel supremely happy about. Who knows when that chance will come again?

Birthplace: Gävle, Sweden
Date of birth: January 5, 2005
Shoots: Left
Position: Defenceman
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 181 lbs.
Team: Brynäs IF (HockeyAllsvenskan)

I should explain. Brynäs had a truly disastrous season, which ended with the club getting relegated. This upcoming autumn, they will play second-tier hockey for the first time since the 1959-60 season.

On one hand, this is a terrible time for the club, losing boatloads of money through TV deals and sponsorships. On the other hand, this could turn out as a chance for some of the club’s more prominent youngsters to really come into their own.

In the last few seasons, we have seen fellow Swedish powerhouses HV71 and Djurgården tumble the same way that Brynäs just did. The former team, anchored by Philadelphia Flyers prospect Emil Andrae, immediately bounced back up. Djurgården, on the other hand, lost in the playoff finals to Peter Forsberg’s native MoDo, and will surely be a challenge for Brynäs next year.

Disregarding the disappointing outcome for Djurgården, they did feature a lineup which to quite some extent relied on talented youngsters. Liam Öhgren, Noah Östlund, and Jonathan Lekkerimäki were all selected in the first round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, while defenceman Calle Odelius went in the subsequent round. Phenom goaltender Carl Lindbom had been selected the year prior by the Vegas Golden Knights, and got his big break in HockeyAllsvenskan this season.

As it presently stands, Brynäs has lost half of its roster since the season ended a month ago. There are currently only 12 skaters under contract. Hence, the upcoming year could prove to be a terrific opportunity for a player like Theo Lindstein to not only play, but to improve through heavy deployment.

After the relegation was finalized, Lindstein left to play the World Under-18 Championship with Sweden. He started off the tournament red hot, collecting five points in the opening two games, as Sweden massacred Canada (8-0) and narrowly scraped by Slovakia (5-3). However, he then went on a dry spell, being unable to record any more points over the remaining five games of the tournament.

Preliminary Rankings

Dobber Prospects: #40
Elite Prospects: #66
FCHockey: #34
Hockey Prospect: #45
Hadi Kalakeche: #49
McKeen’s: #46
Bob McKenzie (TSN): #40
NHL Central Scouting: #14 (European Skaters)
Corey Pronman (The Athletic): N/R in Top 37
Scott Wheeler (The Athletic): #50

Going back one year in time, Lindstein was considered the front-runner to be the first defenceman chosen in the 2023 Draft. One year later, it is unlikely that he will even be selected among the first 32. By that time, he had already made his debut in the SHL as a mere 16-year-old, performing admirably against opponents who could be twice his age any given night.

Lindstein has always been able to rely on his smooth skating. That has and will continue to be his main calling card as a hockey player. His skating allows him to move swiftly from defence to offence and back again, without getting caught out of position.

Combine this with an accurate release, decent passing skills, and a smart two-way game, and you can easily see NHL scouts fall in love with the top-four potential of this versatile left-shot defenceman.

HockeyProspecting

It feels like Lindstein’s near development depends a lot on his team. Coming off an extremely rough year for the franchise and the entire city of Gävle, it can only go up from here. At least, that is the general idea. If Brynäs manages to put together a well-crafted team destined for the top of HockeyAllsvenskan, Lindstein will have a considerably easier time to shine than he had this year.

Mitch Brown’s and Lassi Alanen’s Tracking Project

We can see from Lassi Alanen’s tracking that young Theo had an overall solid showing, especially for a 17-/18-year old. Becoming more of a scoring threat would in all probability bump his stock considerably. Then again, it’s understandable for a teenage defenceman to be more inclined to let others finish the attacks during his first full season with the seniors.

HockeyAllsvenskan should provide Lindstein with a slower pace as well as a higher tolerance for the inevitable Junior mistakes. If he spends the summer improving his top speed and continues to bulk up, there is every chance that Lindstein could eventually turn into a quality NHLer down the line.

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