Elias Lindholm: 2013 NHL Draft Prospect

It is difficult to find a player who plays such a complete game at just 17 years old like Lindholm. He has the ability to create offense even with a small window of opportunity and be a force without the puck and get his team on the attack in a hurry. Lindholm will surely be a very high 1^st round draft pick if he can keep up his development this season.

Lindholm is tough to stop when he has the puck. He is so strong, and makes very quick decisions and catches opponents off guard. He is an excellent playmaker and always seems to be able to find his teammates for very good scoring chances. Without it, he is able to get into the right areas and anticipate where the puck is going to be. One area of improvement for Lindholm would be his goal scoring abilities. He needs to improve his shots and be a threat to score on the rush and not just with his passes. Defensemen in the NHL will be able to pick up his tendency to pass and cheat a little, and to keep them guessing, he will need to score more often.

Defensively, it will be difficult to find another forward who plays as hard in his own zone as Lindholm. He is so physically strong that he consistently gets inside positioning on an opponent and takes away the puck. He reads the play so well, and other teams have a difficult time in the offensive zone when he is on the ice. Time and time again he will intercept passes and get the play going the other way for his team.

We had had Elias Lindholm ranked #5 going back to last February. He is ranked 4th in our September 30th rankings  and we do not see him dropping anytime soon. His willingness to play in both ends of the ice at a high level at all times will not go unnoticed by other teams. His playmaking skills are excellent, and he could be the 1^st line centre that teams love to build their squad around.