Montreal Canadiens: Top Prospect Countdown: No. 3 Charlie Lindgren
By Austin Owens
The Montreal Canadiens look like they’ve found a backup of the future for Carey Price, as Lindgren has turned in great performances at every level.
While the Montreal Canadiens have some solid prospects to build towards in the future, they sit near the back of the league in prospect pool rankings.
With that in mind, let’s look at who will be the top players in the Habs pipeline this season.
On Monday, we profiled Charles Hudon. Today, we look at Charlie Lindgren, who is the third ranked prospect on our board.
As is the case with fellow goaltending prospect Michael McNiven, the Canadiens have found themselves some diamonds in the rough when it comes to free agent goaltenders. Lindgren is the best example of this.
He played two seasons in the USHL with the Sioux Falls Stampede, where he posted a combined save percentage above .900. Lindgren then left the USHL for the NCAA, where he committed to play for St. Cloud State University.
It didn’t take him long to take over the crease for the Huskies. He started 38 games for them during his sophomore campaign in 2014-15, while sporting a .919 sv% and a 2.25 goals against average.
Lindgren was also named to the NCAA (NCHC) Honourable Mention All-Star Team (which featured Jake Guentzel) that season.
In his junior year, Lindgren posted a 2.13 GAA and .925 sv% across 40 games. He signed a two-year contact with the Canadiens on March 30, 2016 and played his first NHL game just over a week later against the Carolina Hurricanes.
He would get his first win in that contest, which will be best remembered for the two-pad-stack save he made in the final minutes of the game.
Lindgren made two appearances with the Habs last season, but spent the rest of the season with the St. John’s IceCaps. He played in 48 games, had a 2.56 GAA and a .914 sv%. He was selected to play in the 2017 AHL All-Star game along with teammate Mark Barberio.
With Al Montoya returning to be the backup for Carey Price this season and most likely the next, Lindgren will go back down to the AHL and be the starter for the Laval Rocket. Should a situation come up where Montoya is underperforming, however, Lindgren will be the first man to get the call up.
Lindgren is part of a small class of right-handed goaltenders to play in the NHL. Steve Mason is currently the only goalie in the NHL that catches with his right hand. This would give teams a different look as a backup and help the Habs to win some more games when Price is not in the crease.
Look out for Lindgren to make an impact on the Habs in the not too near future.
Next: Montreal Canadiens: Season Expectations for Noah Juulsen