Top 5 NHL Draft pick Cayden Lindstrom confirms he'll play at MSU next season
Michigan State hockey has officially landed a major prospect that was selected in the top five of last year's NHL Draft.
Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reported on earlier this month that star forward Cayden Lindstrom has confirmed he'll play for Michigan State next year. Portzline reported earlier this offseason that Lindstrom was leaning towards joining Michigan State for next season, but his latest report on earlier this month now confirms that is the case.
Lindstrom is a Canadian prospect who played major junior hockey for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL and was the No. 4 pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets in last year's NHL Draft. After a back injury sidelined him for the 2024-25 season, he considered the college hockey route, a path not very common for Canadian major junior hockey players.
The official addition of Lindstrom to an already loaded Spartans squad is great news for the Spartans. Michigan State is shaping up to once again be a preseason top five team and should again be in contention for the national championship in 2026.
Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.
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New York Times
37 minutes ago
- New York Times
Canadiens' continued pursuit of unicorns stands tall at development camp
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He went undrafted in his first year of eligibility and was then drafted last year by the Canadiens in the fifth round, during a commercial break in the coverage. Tyler Thorpe found out he was drafted when a buddy of his called him to let him know, as commercials continued rolling on television. Then, Thorpe came to rookie camp last fall and stood out. He is 6 feet 5 inches, long and physical, and can really shoot it. He has puck skills. The only deficiency is his feet, which still need work. But the Canadiens saw enough in one rookie camp to give Thorpe some serious motivation to go back to the Vancouver Giants of the WHL and work on the things that will help him reach the NHL with the Canadiens. He was given the mandate of playing big, and if he did that, there was a strong chance there would be an NHL contract waiting for him at the end of the season. 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This came one year (less a day) after Florian Xhekaj, also undrafted in his first year of eligibility and taken in the fourth round of the 2023 draft as an overager, signed after the completion of his OHL season with the Brantford Bulldogs. Xhekaj is another long, rangy, physical forward who just finished an excellent rookie season with the Rocket. He is not exactly the same player as Thorpe, but they are definitely in a similar bucket. They share a type — a rare type that can be very effective in a seven-game playoff series if they can get the details and habits rounded out to reach the NHL. 'What they said to me, and I fully agree with them, is I have stick skill,' Thorpe said. 'I can shoot the puck, I can pass, I can stickhandle, but it's just morphing that into the big frame. So obviously that comes with the gritty play, the hitting, the forechecking. Just kind of morphing those two together, that's kind of been their message so far.' Thorpey channeling his inner Michelangelo today! 🐢 From 2️⃣6️⃣ Connor Levis to Tyler Thorpe with his 2️⃣6️⃣th of the season!#REMAXforCMN | @remaxcanada | @bcchf | @TheWHL | @CanadiensMTL | #GoHabsGo — Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) March 3, 2025 Thorpe had the advantage of having a late growth spurt. When COVID-19 hit in 2020 when Thorpe was 14, he was about 5-7. By the time he was 17 and playing in the WHL, Thorpe was about 6-4, and today he's 6-5. So, those stick skills came from his days as a smaller player, but he's still learning how to be a big player and use that frame to its fullest potential in the pro game. Advertisement 'My first year when I played Junior B, I was trying to be the little guy, get the nice goals, make the nice plays,' he said. 'But once I got to the WHL, they said, this is your role. I love throwing a big hit now, so I was more than happy to do that.' 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USA Today
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Canucks offseason depth chart 2.0: Where does Vancouver stand after free agency?
From the perspective of adding volume to their roster, it wasn't the busiest offseason for the Vancouver Canucks. Still the club utilized most of their draft picks at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, executed a trade with the cap strapped Edmonton Oilers, extended three core players and fleshed out their organizational depth — which took a hit following the club's Calder Cup championship success — with some league minimum signings. Advertisement The shifting puzzle pieces that make up this Canucks lineup, however, will impact training camp battles, and how this team performs once the puck finally drops on the 2025-26 regular season in October. Let's check in on the state of the Canucks depth chart, with an eye toward what the franchise has accomplished and what they still need to add over the balance of this offseason. In contrast with the glaring needs at centre, Vancouver is relatively well set up and deep on both wings. 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Kane has a lot of loud tools — a high quality wrist shot, solid speed, a physical presence on the ice — but is probably a complementary middle-six winger at this stage of his career. He's definitely got the stomach for competing in heavy games at the toughest time of the year, but he's also got a significant penchant for taking undisciplined penalties. Advertisement Quietly Nils Höglander broke out in the second half of last season, after he was relegated to a fourth-line depth roll for a two month stretch that spanned from November through to January. The high-energy puck-battle winning ace winger still has some defensive warts that have prevented him from earning the sort of opportunity he needs to be a 40-50 point top-six winger. The raw ability, however, and the sky high work rate is unquestionably there. It was a challenging season for Dakota Joshua, who missed time to begin the year after surgery to address a testicular cancer diagnosis in August and never really appeared to get caught up. Dinged up with a linger hip injury, Joshua could be traded to make the cap space work if Vancouver has a chance to land the middle-six centre this lineup so sorely needs. Arshdeep Bains dominated in the conference final and Calder Cup Final for Abbotsford on their championship run. The 24-year-old forward has just enough speed and just enough size and just enough skill to carve out a full-time NHL role, but when he's had NHL opportunities in the past, he's played a tight, coach's pet game that has served to limit his creativity and diminish his potential value. Bains will require waivers this season, so this will be a critical training camp for him. 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Teddy Blueger had a successful 40 game run as a third-line centre for the Canucks during the 2023-24 campaign, but is clearly best suited to a more limited role. With one year remaining on his contract, which carries a $1.8 million cap hit, Blueger could end up on the trade block if Vancouver requires some additional cap flexibility this offseason. Max Sasson was one of Abbotsford's many standout performers during the Calder Cup playoffs. The speedy 24-year-old is a high-end competitive motor, is an excellent skater and can think the game at an NHL level. He's a bit limited offensively, however, and lacks prototypical size for a bottom-six centre and may end up on the wing long-term in the NHL. Advertisement Nils Åman is fast and long and oppressive defensively, but his lack of face-off winning ability is a severe limiting factor. If Åman was winning north of 50 percent of his draws, he'd profile like a highly sought after fourth-line defensive specialist, but alas. Ty Mueller has been a breakout star in Vancouver's prospect system over the past 12 months, evening making his NHL debut late last season. The club feels he's probably a year away from really challenging for a full-time NHL role, but the club views him as having that sort of upside. A Canucks draft pick during the Mike Gillis years, Vancouver repatriated 6-foot-5 forward Joseph LaBate on a two-way contract this summer. LaBate is a defensive specialist at the American League level, who got into six NHL games for Columbus this past season. With a fresh, seven-year extension in hand Brock Boeser's Canucks future is secured at last. The top-six scoring winger has adapted his game over the years, transforming himself into a net front specialist on the power play and a master of deflections in the greasy areas of the ice. Also extended this week, Conor Garland was utilized as a first-line forward last season. 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The 25-year-old forward is limited by his speed, but has sky high hockey IQ, is exceptionally hard on his stick and is dangerous at the net front and in the area game. The skating speed is a real limiting factor for Karlsson, but he could potentially carve out a full-time NHL niche as a bottom-six winger and power-play specialist. Jonathan Lekkerimäki was dominant in the first half of his season in the AHL, flashed mega potential in 24 NHL games and then struggled enormously in the Calder Cup playoffs — before a really slick two-goal game in Game 5 of the Calder Cup Final. Based on his current development curve the 20-year-old winger should challenge for a middle-six spot at the NHL level this season. Danila Klimovich scored some huge overtime goals in the Calder Cup playoffs, but remains a few years away from being a few years away. The strength of this hockey club, on paper, is on the back-end. And the strength of the back-end is Quinn Hughes, who is the most impactful individual two-way defender in hockey. Acquired at midseason, Marcus Pettersson is a low-end top-pair defender — a classic two/three type — capable of keying the breakout and munching big minutes responsibly. We've never seen Pettersson play when Hughes was at 100 percent, and if you're searching for optimism in this Canucks lineup, that's it right there. Elias Pettersson ('Petey Junior', as the Canucks call him internally) was a revelation in his late season look at the NHL level last season. Deceptively fast, deceptively skilled and evidently physical, Pettersson is tracking like a physical two-way defender who could be the real deal. Derek Forbort is a sturdy penalty killer, and a reliable depth option who excels at defending in the neutral zone in particular. Advertisement Pierre-Olivier Joseph has the ability to play both the left and right sides, and is a solid, versatile organizational depth replacement for Christian Wolanin. Guillaume Brisebois is the longest tenured Canuck and the organization still believes strongly in him. There's hope that he's put the injury issues from the past few seasons behind him. Could be an NHL option if injuries hit this season. Kirill Kudryavtsev was the breakout star for Abbotsford on their run to the Calder Cup. A burgeoning two-way ace at a precocious enough age that he may be able to breakthrough his rare profile and lack of first power-play unit upside as a slighter blue liner. Jimmy Schuldt is a 30-year-old American League veteran with a couple games of NHL experience. Vancouver is very excited about Sawyer Mynio, who will be counted on to play a major role in Abbotsford. The Canucks aren't lacking for talent on the right-side of their defence, especially given that players like Forbort, Pettersson, Kudryavtsev and Joseph can fill-in ably on the right side, but the club could probably still use some depth reinforcements at right defense. Just one more American League veteran with a handful of NHL games under the belt might be worthwhile as insurance. Filip Hronek has emerged as the pitch perfect Hughes caddy, but is a genuine top-pair defender in his own right as well. Tyler Myers played his best hockey last season with Foote as his assistant coach. Has he hit a new level in his mid-30s, or should we expect a few ore the more chaotic elements of his game to return next season? Tom Willander is going to get a long look at training camp this fall, and despite his need to improve at the offensive sides of the game (and in terms of his puck handling in particular) is likely to start the season in Vancouver's lineup. The club is that high on him. Advertisement Victor Mancini showed out during the Calder Cup playoffs and has some very interesting traits given his size and skating ability. His defensive IQ and puck-handling details, however, remain a work in progress. Jett Woo was tendered a qualifying offer by the club, but remains a restricted free agent for the moment. Woo has the versatility to play both sides, and has become an elite American League defensive defenseman. Thatcher Demko's Canucks future is secured. We know that Demko can string together stretches of dominance, the question, really, is whether or not Vancouver's number one goalie can stay healthy, and how many games should he play in tandem with Kevin Lankinen? Signed to a five-year extension during the season, Lankinen is expected to play frequently as Vancouver's '1B' option in net. Artūrs Šilovs was the Calder Cup playoff MVP this spring after a difficult season at the NHL level. He requires waivers this fall, and the club will likely look to find a taker for Šilovs on the trade market before Canadian thanksgivings. The club is high on Nikita Tolopilo and Ty Young, who are primed to comprise the club's goaltending tandem in Abbotsford next season. (Top photo of newly-acquired forward Evander Kane: Stephen R. Sylvanie / USA TODAY Sports)
