Top five pick could fall in draft after details of serious back injury

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Josh Tupper
June 17, 2024 (9:21)

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Cayden Lindstrom who was expected to be a top five draft pick, may be watching his draft stock fall after news of herniated disc surfaces.

On a recent podcast, Corey Pronman of The Athletic revealed that Cayden Lindstrom had suffered a herniated disc in January, which required surgery and kept him out of the lineup for a number of weeks.

Although Lindstrom was able to rejoin the Medicine Hat Tigers later in the season and play in four playoff games for them, a herniated disc is a rather serious injury, and it's uncertain if this could be a persistent problem for the rest of his career. We'll have to wait and see where Lindstrom ends up, but it's safe to say that all NHL teams that are thinking about selecting him later this month have done their research.

Ivan Demidov and Artyom Levshunov are the only candidates the Chicago Blackhawks are evaluating with the second overall pick, according to Scott Powers of The Athletic last week. This information now makes much more sense in light of Lindstrom's situation.

"With the news of Cayden Lindstrom suffering a herniated disc it makes sense as to why the #Blackhawks are down to Ivan Demidov and Artyom Levshunov"

Lindstrom seems to still be a possibility for the Montreal Canadiens, another squad that is anticipated to be taken highly in the first round. Although teams have been aware of Lindstrom's injuries for some time, according to Marco D'Amico of Montreal Hockey Now, things may get more complicated.

If D'Amico's back holds up, he may be taken fourth by Columbus or fifth by Montreal, he continued. If not, Beckett Sennecke or Tij Iginla might become the Canadiens' next focus.

"Lindstrom's injury is not a revelation to NHL teams who have been in the know for a bit.

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 NHL's 2024 Entry Draft is set for Friday, June 28th and Cayden Lindstrom likely won't have to wait too long to have his name called, despite his injury issues this past season.

Source: Blade of Steel
Lindstrom's draft position unclear after report of serious injury during season