Projected top 2 NHL 2024 pick hit with tragic draft-altering injury news
Cayden Lindstrom, originally a projected Top-2 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft has suffered a setback recently.
Corey Pronman of The Athletic reported that the forward has suffered an injury that was serious in January. He was kept out of the Medicine Hat Tigers lineup for a number of weeks afterward.
He suffered from a herniated disc, which was worse than previously thought as it kept him out for a significant amount of time until he reappeared in the lineup during the playoffs.
As a result of the injury, this may tank his draft stock compared to where it was prior, as teams will do their due diligence investigating the injury itself.
According to Scott Powers of The Athletic, after the news came out regarding Lindstrom, they narrowed down their top 2 choices to Artyom Levshunov and Ivan Demidov.
It seems unlikely now, that Davidson may have selected Lindstrom second overall, despite being considered by the Blackhawks.
It looks like while the Blackhawks may pass on Lindstrom, this may allow teams like the Canadiens, who according to Marco D'Amico of Montreal Hockey Now are taking a serious look at Cayden Lindstrom.
If his back is ok, it looks like the Canadiens could select Lindstrom fourth overall or let him slip to the Columbus Blue Jackets. If not, they could end up selecting TJ Iginla or Brett Sennecke.
All we're saying is that it complicates the evaluation.
If his back checks out, I wouldn't be surprised if he went 4th or 5th overall.
But if it doesn't, MTL may look to Sennecke/Iginla." D'Amico said.
The first round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft will take place on June 28th and Lindstrom could find himself selected sooner rather than later in the 1st round, despite previous injuries.
| POLL | ||
Should the Blackhawks let Lindstrom slip to 4th overall? | ||
| Yes | 93 | 60 % |
| No | 62 | 40 % |
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