The pick is in.
With the fourth overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft, the Columbus Blue Jackets selected center Cayden Lindstrom.
Lindstrom is, in a word: big. He goes 6'3", 215lb and spent this season with the Medicine Hat Warriors of the WHL. A native of Chetwynd, British Columbia, Canada, Lindstrom was limited by both back and hand injuries in the 2023-24 season but still tallied 27 goals and 19 assists in just 32 games.
In May, our own Dan Dukart touched on the possibility of the Blue Jackets adding Lindstrom via the draft, saying that he was impressed by how toolsy he is, particularly for a player of his size.
"He has good hands makes plays in tight spaces, and possesses exceptional finishing ability," wrote Dukart. "I wonder if he follows a path to someone like Quinton Byfield, who went 2nd overall in 2020 and has a similar athletic profile. Byfield started slow in his professional career, but the Los Angeles Kings were patient with him, and now, at 21, he looks like the current and future 1C."
Lindstrom is the first Black player selected by the Blue Jackets in the first round. The 18-year-old is also Native, with his grandmother being full Cree. In a conversation with Sportsnet, Lindstrom said that it means a lot to him to be able to represent both cultures:
Cayden Lindstrom has had a long road to the 2024 #NHLDraft. From growing up in remote Chetwynd, BC, to moving to Vancouver alone at age 13, to playing in the WHL. He now hopes to serve as a role model on hockey's biggest stage in the NHL.
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 28, 2024
Full : https://t.co/jYG2SBc0FR pic.twitter.com/nQEVd7hdwq
In their draft preview, ESPN compared Lindstrom to last year's selection by the Blue Jackets of Adam Fantilli, saying that the two "play a similar game, bring size and have the makings of a matchup nightmare for years to come."
The Blue Jackets will select next in the second round, at #36 overall.
