Elias Lindholm – Brynas – 2013 NHL Draft

Elias Lindholm was one of the best players in both tournaments we watched him in this season. He impressed us at the World Jr. A Challenge in November and the U18 in April. He is a force in both ends of the ice. It is difficult to find a player who plays such a complete game at his age. He competes each and every shift.

Defensively, Lindholm reads the play extremely well. He takes away passing lanes and shooting lanes with good stick positioning. He uses his physicality to knock players loose off of pucks, whether it be in open ice by getting his shoulder inside and bumping an opponent or pinning a player on the boards and using his stick or feet to knock it loose.

Lindholm uses his skating and stickhandling skills to be elusive on the ice every time he touches the puck. He avoids using fancy moves to get away from defenders, but instead shifts so quickly from one direction to another, while keeping the puck in full control. It is impressive to see him skate in open ice with the puck. He makes very smart and accurate passes. He has a very good release on his wrist shot, but it was a shame he tends to pass rather than use it more often. He uses his strength well in the offensive zone. He rarely gets knocked off the puck.

We did not see him score a ton but Lindholm showed a lot of willingness to go to the tough areas to score. He certainly possesses good scoring skills. His vision and playmaking skills are outstanding. He is a very creative player, and will be one of the top picks in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.