By the Numbers Prospects: Gustav Lindstrom

By the Numbers will highlight the on-ice accomplishments in the 2017-18 season for the Detroit Red Wings' prospects. Twice a week during the offseason, By the Numbers will profile a different player in the system, focusing on his statistical highs. This week we focus on defenseman Gustav Lindstrom.
It's tough to keep a secret in the NHL, especially when a player's game makes significant improvements from the beginning of his season to the end.

Once a player is on one team's radar, rest assured he is popping up on teams' radar screens all over the league.
A perfect example is Swedish defenseman Gustav Lindstrom, Detroit's second-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
When he was selected by the Wings, there was a collective gasp at the United Center in Chicago. Many pundits panned the pick, believing Detroit chose the 6-foot-2, 187-pound defenseman way too early in the draft.
However, teams that were aware of Lindstrom realized the Wings had selected a player who didn't begin to show his potential until around Christmastime in 2016.
Because Lindstrom was not well known, he had been under the radar for his entire draft year so many teams thought they could select him in the later rounds.
Lindstrom started out the 2016-17 season with Almtuna IS in Sweden's Allsvenskan, which is considered Sweden's second-best professional league.
His first season as a pro began with a thud. Lindstrom was Almtuna's sixth defenseman and saw very little playing time. When he did get into the lineup, he struggled.
Almtuna made a mid-season coaching change at Christmas and Lindstrom emerged from his early season funk into the team's top defenseman, quarterbacking the top power-play unit.
What was a disastrous beginning to his season turned into an impressive second half for Lindstrom as his overall game began to take shape. He finished his rookie year with two goals among his nine points, was minus-11 and accumulated 26 penalty minutes in 48 games.
Several NHL teams began to take notice, but again, the popular belief was Lindstrom was a well-kept secret, a diamond in the rough who was basically forgotten by most teams because his first half of the year was so dismal.
Detroit had scouted Lindstrom extensively and was impressed by the way he rebounded and made the most of the opportunity he was given by Almtuna's new coaching staff.
The Wings really wanted Lindstrom and sensed they were not the only club who held him in high regard.
So the Red Wings selected the right-hand shooting defenseman, knowing he was a raw talent with a high hockey IQ.
The Red Wings were also impressed with Lindstrom's calm demeanor on the ice and his ability to make a quick and accurate pass out of his own end.
They also liked that he's a quick study with an abrasive side. He doesn't shy away from physical play and enjoys the rough and tumble game.
This upcoming season Lindstrom makes the jump to the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and will play for Frolunda, the same team Rasmus Dahlin, this year's No. 1 overall pick in the NHL Draft, played for from 2016-17 through 2017-18.
Frolunda has a solid reputation in hockey circles as an excellent team and an organization which has a lot of resources to develop players.
Lindstrom is the nephew of defenseman Marcus Ragnarsson, who was selected in the fifth round, 99th overall, in the 1992 NHL draft by the San Jose Sharks. Ragnarsson played in 632 NHL games for the Sharks and Philadelphia Flyers and finished his career with 37 goals, 140 assists, was minus-8 and had 482 penalty minutes.
Defenseman Jacob Ragnarsson, Lindstrom's cousin and son of Marcus, was selected in the third round, 70th overall, by the New York Rangers in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.
On May 25, the Red Wings signed Lindstrom to a three-year entry-level contract for $2.775 million.
39 -Total number of games Lindstrom played last season, which was nine fewer games from the 48 he played in his first season for Almtuna IS.
6 -His six goals were a career high for Lindstrom. He had two goals for Almtuna IS in his rookie year.
8 -Lindstrom's eight helpers were also a career high; he had seven assists during his first Almtuna IS campaign.
14 -Lindstrom's 14 points were a career high for the second-year pro and ranked second by a defenseman on his team. His point total was also tied for 10th overall on Almtuna. Linus Rotbakken led Almtuna's defensive corps in scoring with six goals and 13 assists. In his first year, Lindstrom had 11 points for Almtuna IS.
34 -His 34 penalty minutes ranked sixth on Almtuna. Left wing Lucas Sandstrom's 62 penalty minutes led the team.
2 -Lindstrom's plus-2 was a significant improvement form his minus-11 from the previous season.
7 -Total number of games Lindstrom played for Team Sweden in the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship held in Buffalo. He had one assist, was plus-2 and was whistled for eight penalty minutes as Team Sweden captured the silver medal.
38 - Detroit selected Lindstrom in the second round, 38th overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He is the third player the Wings have selected with the 38th pick in the NHL Draft. In 1988, the Wings selected defenseman Serge Anglehart with the 38th pick in the second round and in the 2000 NHL draft, Detroit chose right wing Tomas Kopecky in the second round, 38th overall. The Red Wings' first-round selection in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft was defenseman Niklas Kronwall, taken with the 29th overall pick.
Quotable:"The second half of the season was great for me. I think that I improved almost everything in my game, especially the defensive play. I had a little bit more ice time this year than the year before, so it was a good year for me. I want to be stronger, whole body, but the most I want to improve my skating on the ice and be faster and be more mobile. Frolunda is a big club in Sweden. They have improved a lot of players. They practice hard, it's long days on the rink, with hard training, on ice and off ice. That's a good place to be. I want to be in Sweden at least one year and then let's see what happens. I think if I played good I might want to take a chance to play here in (the) American League or National Hockey League, but at least one or two years in Sweden." - Lindstrom