The 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held June 28-29 at Sphere in Las Vegas. The first round will be June 28 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS) and round 2-7 are on June 29 (11:30 ET; ESPN+, NHLN, SN, SN1). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. NHL.com's full draft coverage can be found here.
Cayden Lindstrom has a style and swagger reminiscent in some ways to Hockey Hall of Famer Eric Lindros and would be a huge asset to any team selecting early in the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft, according to John Williams of NHL Central Scouting.
"[Lindstrom] can make plays, he can score, and he's got that little bit of a mean streak so he's not afraid to get involved physically or take charge physically ... he ticks all the boxes that you would want as an NHL team," Williams said on the latest "NHL Draft Class" podcast. "I saw Eric Lindros play when he was 15-, 16-years-old and that's the name that comes to mind for me (when watching Lindstrom). Just that big, strong, can-do-everything player."
Lindstrom (6-foot-3, 210 pounds), No. 3 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters, remains a top-10 option in the 2024 draft despite missing 36 regular-season games with an injury. The 18-year-old forward with Medicine Hat of the Western Hockey League returned to the lineup March 29 after recovering from surgery to repair an upper-body injury. He had 46 points (27 goals, 19 assists) in 32 games prior to getting injured and had two points (one goal, one assist) and 17 shots on goal in four WHL playoff games.
Along with Lindstrom, Williams covered several other top prospects from the WHL, including the differences between Spokane center Berkly Catton (No. 8 among North American skaters) and Kelowna left wing Tij Iginla (No. 9).
"[Catton] was just an all-around impact player and I think he distributes the puck a little bit better right now, but Tij plays a different position," Williams said. "Tij was there to score goals and he does that exceptionally well, so there's not a lot of separation there."
During an in-depth discussion with co-hosts Adam Kimelman and Mike G. Morreale, Williams also provided his thoughts on Calgary defenseman Carter Yakemchuk (No. 11) and the second-half surge by Everett center Julius Miettinen (No. 18).
The podcast is free, and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms, including iTunes and Spotify. It also is available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.
