2022 Flames Second Round Targets: Mats Lindgren

He possesses high levels of hockey sense and can anticipate where the puck will be going to next in order to put himself in a better position in the offensive zone. He can predict where teammates will be and can execute on his passes from the blue line. Lindgren’s vision in the offensive zone is up there with the best in the WHL, which bodes well for his odds of making it to the NHL. Lindgren’s on-ice vision gives him a competitive advantage over his opponents at times, allowing for his teammates to capitalize on his passes.

Lindgren’s next biggest advantage is his shifty skating. His top speed and acceleration are average or slightly above average at best, but where Lindgren excels is in his ability to skate himself out of trouble. He’s a slippery skater, able to turn a corner on a dime and gain separation from a defender in an instant, maintaining control of the puck in the process. It’s so incredibly hard to knock Lindgren off of the puck once he gets going.

The debate on Lindgren begins with how refined and detailed his game is when thinking about transition and pinching in his decision-making. That same decision-making process will serve him well as he continues up levels. Contrast those details against how much more room for potential there is in a player who limits himself by his stance and how locked his hands are to his hips. His passing decisions and shot capacity relies on the agility and speed of his footwork rather than a growing athletic stance. To continue to improve his shot power and his passing predictability, he will have to move his hands away from his body more often and be more dynamic in motion. This would hopefully improve his shot power. Despite Lindgren being younger for this draft class, I wonder how much more physical growth and added details will skyrocket his upside. There is a lot to like about what he did in this game though.

Lindgren plays the game the way it’s meant to be played. He uses movement to shape play in all three zones. In the defensive zone that looks like subtle little close-outs, an active stick, and the footwork and headiness required to absorb pressure and play past it (whether with a quick escape into a simple headman or something that appears as simple as a five-foot bump pass that he never screws up). In neutral ice, that looks like perfect timing and accuracy on his passes and carries (whether switching sides with an east-west pass or a carry through the guts of the ice and a pass on entry). In the offensive zone, it looks like clever puck management across the line and through seams as he manipulates structure with his feet. Lindgren plays the calm, cool, collected and mobile but not necessarily flashy game that we’re seeing more and more of out of the defenders his size who are breaking in (see: Scott Perunovich, Rasmus Sandin, Jordan Spence, etc.).