By Kalisha Turnipseed -
The Minnesota Wild's biggest need in the draft is a prospect who can play in the NHL immediately. Pending next week's lottery, they hold Pick 13 in the 2024 Draft, and the pressure is on the Wild front office. They'll need to take a page from the Vegas Golden Knights’ win-now playbook to retain Kirill Kaprizov. In order to do that, they should do what it takes to trade up the draft. The highest the Wild could realistically trade up is to third overall, which is currently owned by the Anaheim Ducks.
Anaheim is a good trade partner because they already have two first-round picks in this year’s draft (No. 24) and the flexibility to move up and down the draft board as they wish. The Wild are close enough to the top ten to pull off a trade. The Ducks are rebuilding its depth and prospect pool. They have building blocks in Mason McTavish, Troy Terry, Trevor Zegras, and Leo Carlsson.
Trading up in the draft isn’t easy, especially into the top three. The Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks have the best odds to win the lottery to pursue Macklin Celebrini or Ivan Demidov. Celebrini and Demidov are projected to be the top two picks in this year’s draft. If the board shakes out like that and the Wild can aggressively move up, who might be their ideal target?
Danila Yurov is projected to arrive in 2025-26. Fans are disappointed to hear that the next Russian phenomenon won’t join the Wild next season. However, they get to watch another center with star potential to add to Minnesota’s center depth. The Wild should target Cayden Lindstrom from the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers.
Lindstrom is NHL-ready, which makes him a very safe pick, but he possesses high-end skill with unpredictable speed. Minnesota wants to get bigger at center, and they may be shopping Marco Rossi to add size. Lindstrom is the opposite of Rossi. His draft-year statistics (27 goals, 46 points in 32 games) aren’t as good as Rossi’s, but Lindstrom is dynamic and physical. Imagine if New York Rangers left wing Chris Kreider played center, and you have an idea of what Lindstrom could be for the Wild.
The Wild need an impact player, and Lindstrom is showing first-line potential right now. Better yet, his stock will continue to rise because he plays a mature, NHL-ready style. NHL.com’s William Douglas quoted Medicine Hat head coach Willie Desjardins, who had this to say about Lindstrom's game:
He’s gifted athletically, he can really shoot a puck and he’s got great speed. He can overpower guys. He passes the puck like a pro and he’s hard to play against. He’s [an even] better person. He can take criticism. He smiles. He’s excited to be at the rink. He knows where he wants to go, and he’s driven to his goals.
The Wild wanted Charlie Coyle, who boasted a 6-foot-3 frame, to use his size to be a game-breaker, but he never was a dynamic offensive player at center. Lindstrom has a higher offensive ceiling than Coyle. He has captain potential, leading by example like Brock Faber, who has also proven to been an impactful player and leader. Faber won't be an offensive juggernaut, but he's an elite two-way defenseman. Lindstrom will likely become an elite two-way center who can be Joel Eriksson Ek's successor as a dynamic force in the middle-six.
If the Wild are trying to become bigger, faster, stronger, Lindstrom checks every box. Lindstrom’s breakaway speed is impressive for his 6-foot-4 frame, able to break away from defenders more often than not. His skating style on the transition game kind of reminds me of Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers), Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche), Jack Eichel (Golden Knights), and Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings). Lindstrom’s able to shake defenders with his acceleration and top speed. He can come out of nowhere and burst past defenders to be in alone on goaltenders.
Lindstrom can further improve by working with Andy Ness, who helped Rossi transition to NHL speed. Given that he's a natural power forward, Lindstrom can make the most of Ness's experience to take his game to a different level. Lindstrom playing with NHL power forwards should help him take the next step when he debuts in the NHL. Lindstrom should be able to handle NHL competition without the production. Once he gains experience, his game will unleash and give the Wild another power center.
Drafting Lindstrom will give the Wild more size down the middle. If Yurov (who's 6-foot-1 and playing center in Russia) can stick down the middle in the NHL, Minnesota can utilize Eriksson Ek, Yurov, and Lindstrom to create three scoring lines. Lindstrom gets to play a third-line role behind Yurov and Eriksson Ek, but will be relied upon to provide secondary scoring like Eriksson Ek used to be, and will undoubtedly get power play minutes. Lindstrom won’t face the pressure of being a primary contributor immediately, but can immediately provide the depth Minnesota is desperate for.
The Wild’s Stanley Cup window officially opens when Yurov arrives in 2025-26. Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek, and Matt Boldy are the Wild’s current top line, and they should able to complete their top-six with a big, strong supporting cast that includes Lindstrom, Yurov, Liam Ohgren, and more, which fits the vision of how Guerin wants to build the Wild. With that kind of support in the middle six, an aggressive trade up for Lindstrom could ensure Kaprizov stays in a Minnesota Wild uniform for the foreseeable future.
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