The first time Cayden Lindstrom took the ice in off-season training with Blue Jackets players Kent Johnson and Jake Christiansen, he could hardly believe his eyes.
“My first skate with them, I was like, ‘Whoa!’” Lindstrom said. “Obviously they’re skilled, and they’re great guys as well.”
Now, the three British Columbia natives are Blue Jackets teammates. Columbus selected Lindstrom, a big, physical, talented center who spent the past year with Medicine Hat of the Western Hockey League, with the fourth overall pick in Friday night’s 2024 NHL Draft at Sphere in Vegas.
Lindstrom has never been to Columbus, but he might not need the biggest introduction thanks to his offseason training partners. Johnson and Christiansen have both talked about the city over the summers with Lindstrom, who is raring to make his arrival in the capital city.
“They told me it’s a pretty nice spot,” Lindstrom said of Johnson and Christiansen. “They told me there’s a couple good spots there. It’s a nice city and a good city to play in. I’m pumped to check it out.”
The Blue Jackets are likely just as excited to have Lindstrom, a prototypical pivot with size, scoring ability and snarl. Lindstrom was a dominant player this past season in the WHL, posting 27 goals and 46 points in 32 games, though he did have to miss the second half of the season with injuries to his hand and back.
The 6-3, 213-pound center also plays the game with a physical flair, whether he’s going into the corners to win battles or crashing his way to the net, where he has excellent hands in tight to score goals.
CBJ general manager and president of hockey operations Don Waddell said the team had him ranked second on their predraft list, even turning down a potential trade for the fourth overall choice once it was clear Lindstrom would be available.
“First of all, he’s a centerman, which they’re hard to come by – big centers that not only can score but very mean,” CBJ general manager and president of hockey operations Don Waddell said. “He plays a very hard (game). That skill set with that kind of temperament, it’s hard to go past those guys.”
While there had been some predraft consternation about Lindstrom’s health, he said he’s recovered now, in the gym and on the ice as he trains for the upcoming campaign. Time will tell how long it takes the 18-year-old to reach the NHL, but when he does, he hopes to bring a unique skill-set that should pair nicely with last year’s first-round pick, Adam Fantilli, and fellow young center and first-round pick Cole Sillinger.
“I’m gonna bring a winning mind-set,” he said. “I’m gonna bring a lot of speed and power and skill. A lot of good offensive touch and physicality as well.”
The seventh first-round selection of the Blue Jackets in the last four drafts, Lindstrom like many also sees a bright future for the squad. While Columbus has missed the playoffs for four straight seasons, the front office has built up the prospect pipeline into one of the best in the league, something Lindstrom will only bolster.
“I see a lot, obviously,” Lindstrom said. “You got Fantilli, you have (Johnny) Gaudreau there now as well. I think there’s a lot of skill there right now, and I want to help them as much as I can. I’d love to win, and I’m sure everyone on that team does too.”
Lindstrom hails from Chetwynd, British Columbia, a town of about 2,500 people in the northeast corner of the province. It’s a 14-hour drive to Vancouver, yet that’s a journey he willingly took on at age 14 when he moved to the city to train at the Delta Hockey Academy in order to bolster his development. That meant leaving behind his family, including mother Patricia and three younger sisters, all in an effort to chase his dream.
“Me and my family were talking about it last night, just everything up until this point,” Lindstrom said. “It’s kind of crazy coming from a small town, Chetwynd here to Vegas. I’m just enjoying it with my family.”
The 14-hour drives have been replaced by cross-continent flights to Columbus, but you won’t hear Lindstrom or his family complain. He has a new NHL home and a chance to make a major impact as a first-round draft pick, and Lindstrom said he’s excited to do it in Columbus.
“I’m so happy to be a Columbus Blue Jacket,” he said.
