Montreal Canadiens have a massive chance to land Cayden Lindstrom with the No. 5 overall pick
Cayden Lindstrom plays a heavy, power-forward style - using hitting and powerful skating to challenge the opposition.
The lottery balls were drawn on Tuesday night and the Montreal Canadiens came out of the NHL Draft Lottery with the rights to draft overall secured.
Billy Daly flipped the card with the fifth overall selection and the Habs logo appeared. So with that the Canadiens are back in familiar territory with the fifth overall pick, the same one they had last year. Montreal drafted defenseman David Reinbacher, which strengthened their blueline group of the future.
But with a need for an impact forward, Kent Hughes will likely select one of the projected top forwards. Fortunately for the Canadiens, some impactful defenders could cause a few forwards to slip. I hope one of Cayden Lindstrom, Tij Iginla or Berkly Catton is available.
Defence could cause forwards to slide to 5
There is a total of four defensemen who could go in the top 10. Each one of them brings something different to the table, but could conceivably be selected in the top 10. If one or two of them go in the top four, Montreal could get their hands on a potential top-line talent.
Anton Silayev is a 6 foot 7 behemoth, who showed some scoring touch this season in the KHL. His mobility at his size is rare and he uses his frame to devastate the opposition with huge hits. And his vision on the breakout looks like an NHL translateable characteristic of his game.
Zayne Parekh is the purest offensive defenseman to be available in the draft in a long time. He reminds many of Erik Karlsson and his mobility and vision combo could be right there with Cale Makar, just not as good defensively, of course. I wouldn’t be surprised if he went in the top four of the draft.
Sam Dickinson reminds me a lot of Kaiden Guhle, he skates beautifully and is a strong defender. Offensively, he may have a little more to give than Guhle. He is less likely to go in the top five, but likely after the Canadiens draft, he is a defender who fits the mould of a pillar presence that a championship team wins with.
Zeev Buium is a do-it-all puck-moving defensemen, who has the chops to produce offensively and make opponents miss when trying to defend against him. Buium beat Lane Hutson's freshman defensemen points record of 48 with his 50 points this past season. And he was a finalist for the Hobey Baker award, among a list of other personal NCAA accolades, he could also be a top four pick without turning any heads.
Cayden Lindstrom could slide because of injury-riddled season
Cayden Lindstrom didn't have the draft year that he hoped for, missing half of the season due to injury.
While that could have affected his draft stock, scouts know all too well that Lindstrom isn't a flash in the pan. Lindstrom bested his previous career high of 42 points in 61 games, scoring 46 in 32 games this year. The power forward/centre also suited up for four playoff games, scoring two points.
Should Lindstrom slip to the Habs, Kent Hughes should feel like a kid on Christmas morning, because a player with his skills at his size is very rare. Adding him into the Canadiens' top six, with Kirby Dach and Juraj Slafkovsky already there would make the team difficult to play against. I can picture glimpses of the Habs in the playoffs, being able to ice a line of three 6-foot-4 forwards to put the opposition on their heels.
Lindstrom likely still hasn't scratched the surface of what he will inevitably become. With Canadiens director of player development Adam Nicholas working hand-in-hand with Lindstrom, he could develop into a cornerstone piece for the Habs. Slafkovsky was an example of a project with high potential and I think if Lindstrom has some fun and works hard with his development, he can become a dominant player who loves to play with a physical edge.
Cayden Lindstrom on potentially being drafted by the Habs.
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) May 5, 2024
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Lindstrom spoke about the idea of playing for the Habs alongside Slafkovsky, which we know would be a dominant duo. But he also hinted at playing with Cole Caufield, which you can just imagine the scenarios that a power forward, with a physical edge, that is more natural than Slafkovsky's would create. Despite how the top six is configured, adding Lindstrom to the fold could open up many different configurations.
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