Blues Couldn't Have Scripted Theo Lindstein's Start To NHL Career Any Better; Future Looks Very Good

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. — It was in his third NHL game, a moment Theo Lindstein called a learning experience.

“That was maybe a welcome to an NHL moment,” the first-round pick by the St. Louis Blues in the 2023 NHL Draft said with grin.

Indeed it was, and it it won’t be the last time Lindstein, or a slew of other defensemen, will get schooled by arguably the greatest player on the planet, Connor McDavid. And it won’t be the last time seeing him on the ice, and that’s a good thing, because it means the 21-year-old is a mainstay in the NHL.

Here comes McDavid, with speed of a freight train, barreling down on Lindstein. What does he do in that moment? Probably what the majority of NHL defensemen do — hope and pray.

“It’s a pretty big deal when you see Connor McDavid comes up with speed,” Lindstein said. “… It was just cool to play against the best player in the world.”

What’s sort of defined the Galve, Sweden native’s game is that even after that humbling moment that at the time, gave the Edmonton Oilers a 2-0 lead in the third period, he came right back in the ice for his next shift and pinched in on a play that helped lead to a Pius Suter goal not even 2.5 minutes later.

He wasn’t in awe of the moment. He put his head right back down and went back to work.

There are ebbs and flows to playing the position, and there will be wow moments and there will be learning moments.

But when Lindstein, who earned his first NHL point in his debut — an assist — against the New York Islanders on March 10, played in his 10th game on Monday against the San Jose Sharks, he potted his first NHL goal:

And quite frankly, the Blues couldn’t have drawn up a better start to an NHL career. It’s been surprisingly quite seamless.

There’s a calmness, a coolness to his game so far, not being overwhelmed and in awe of the moment.

This bodes so well moving forward, much more so than what the defenseman admitted he was expecting when he first arrived.

“I was just expecting to come up here maybe to learn a lot from the guys up here and see the game up here, maybe play a couple games, but I feel good out there and I’m just going to keep playing my game to earn every bit of ice time and to play every game,” Lindstein said. “Just have fun out there. Not a lot of games left in the season and make it as good as possible, take that with me for next year.”

Blues coach Jim Montgomery didn’t sugarcoat anything. There would be no coddling with the player. The Blues invested heavily into this player, the 29th pick in the 2023 Draft, and at the time of his recall, their season was in a bit of flux until this recent run that thrust them back into playoff conversation, so why not get a look at another piece to what is expected to be a big part of the future of the organization?

And the young man hasn’t disappointed.

“I think his brain and his feet are NHL-ready,” Montgomery said. “The position is hard on young players, and a lot of credit should go to Colton Parayko because he’s made his life real easy. He’s talking to him on every shift. I don’t know exact words he’s telling him, but he’s probably saying, ‘Don’t be afraid to have a great gap. I’ll cover everything up.’ It’s really reassuring when someone you’re playing with is telling you to be aggressive, don’t worry, I’ve got your back, and he can clean everything up because he’s done it his whole career.”

Lindstein and the 11-year veteran Parayko have been a pair since Lindstein arrived. The transition has been smooth, the match has fit like a glove. It’s sort of the yesteryear match when a young Parayko was paired with the crafty veteran Jay Bouwmeester, quite the shutdown pair that was a big part of the Blues’ run to the Stanley Cup in 2019.

We’re not there yet with this pairing, but who better to be a teaching mechanism for Lindstein than a Cup winner who’s been through so many moments in his career?

“Just trying to do that as much as possible,” Parayko said. “Obviously I know what it’s like to come into this league. It’s a tough league. Just try and remember things I would think about, what I would think makes you a good player and makes sure that he sticks with w hat he does great and makes him a great player. If there’s anything he sees, or anything of that, don’t hesitate … I know I’ve been in the league for 11 years, but guys are always seeing something different. Just try to build together. Not too big, not too small. Just mainly trying to make him feel comfortable and allow him to play his game and we can just start reading and build off each other.

“I’ve had some great mentors, I don’t know however you want to put it, leaders that have kind of helped me a lot, kind of put me under their wing. It’s special, just knowing that you have teammates there. It’s not just myself, it’s everybody. Obviously I get the chance to play with him, but everyone in the locker room has been coming together and it’s been great. A lot of good players with a good vibe going on in the locker room. Guys are coming together. I think everybody’s making him feel at home, it’s not just myself. I think that’s important too. I get the pleasure of playing with him, but it’s a team thing for sure.”

There have been those that have made comparisons to Logan Mailloux, how he had to endure struggles earlier this season before finding his game of late. You have to remember, Mailloux went the route of junior hockey and the American Hockey League; Lindstein took a different path to get here and adapting as quickly as he has can be attributed to the fact he spent three seasons with Brynas IF of the Swedish Hockey League, the top league over there, before making the move to North America to play in Springfield of the AHL this season, playing in 56 games (six goals, eight assists, minus-24) and playing big minutes to ready him for this moment.

His Corsi-for through 10 games is 161-100, a 61.24 percent clip, according to naturalstattrick.com and shots for-against is 69-38 with him on the ice and has been on the ice for six goals for, just two against. The numbers don’t lie.

“I had to come over here and play on the small rink for sure,” Lindstein said. “I’ve been playing in tournaments on small rinks, but to be here now and to play all season, it’s another thing. That was the biggest part in the beginning. It goes a little bit faster over here because it’s smaller. That’s the biggest thing. You have to be smart out there all the time and be on your toes all the time because things are happening out there all the time.

“I feel like I started pretty good (in Springfield), but after a couple of games, I went down a little bit but just came back from that. It’s been a tough year for Springfield. We have a really young team down there. But I think I learned a lot from it. I played a lot of minutes when I was down there. I think that helps me a lot for coming up here.”

The Blues were not going to rush and usher Lindstein to the NHL prematurely. They picked their spot and to this point, it’s worked out better than imagined.

“Even what helped more is getting used to the North American game for 50 games down in the American (Hockey) League, where it’s a real grind,” Montgomery said. “You’ve got to play tired, you’ve got to play 3-in-3, three in two-and-a-half. That league really teaches you how to manage your recovery, teaches you how to manage your physical and mental challenges that come your way. In the Swedish League, I don’t think they even play back-to-backs.”

Lindstein is a plus-4, is averaging 15:15 per game and has been utilized on a penalty kill that, prior to Monday, was first in the NHL since the Olympic break at 88.1 percent. Having a mentor like Parayko has been a godsend, though.

“I feel like I’ve been playing good so far. Colton has been helping me a lot out there,” Lindstein said. “He’s very loud out there and I hear him every time. He talks a lot to me. That helps a lot for me.

“We’re two different players. He’s a big, strong, good defenseman. He can skate too. He’s a great skater. But I feel that I can play my game with him, join the rushes, be the fourth guy joining up in the rushes. Sometimes he’s up there too and I’m standing back. It’s situation by situation on how it goes. If I feel that I can jump up, I’m going to jump up and fall up in the rushes all the time. We’re helping each other out there.

“The biggest thing is all the players are better up here of course, and everyone is smarter, bigger, stronger.”

When you’re a 21-year-old who has a guy with Parayko pedigree pumping you full of confidence, it can only help his game grow, because that’s how Parayko was taught.

“That’s the thing I want to keep reiterating to him is just be confident, play your game,” Parayko said. “If something goes wrong, I tell him I make mistakes, plenty of them and I’ve been in the league for 11 years. That’s just the way it goes. I’m going to be there to support him. That’s why we have three other forwards to support us and hopefully a goalie too. I feel like we’ll just start thinking about it or trying to not make mistakes, and that’s when things go the wrong way. Just be confident and make your play. There’s good players around the league. There’s other good players we’re playing against. Just keep your head up and keep looking forward always.

“You’ve still got to go out and execute the whole game plan, but at the same time, I feel the more you talk to him, the more you feel more comfortable. That’s for everybody. But I just reiterate that he’s in this league for a reason. He’s a good hockey player. Talking is a huge part of it all. Just trying to see what he’s thinking, what I’m thinking and how do we mesh this together and make it work out.

“Be a sponge, keep learning, keep absorbing things. It’s a lot. I’m still learning. You can say, quote-unquote, that I’m the guy that’s mentoring him but it’s funny because I’m still learning myself. Everybody’s learning always. I think that’s when it’s important is when you can always keep an open mind, but at the same time, keep your focus. Know what you need to do and know what makes you good.”

Lindstein is doing just that. There will be peaks and valleys, but the peaks are outweighing the valleys, surprisingly in the early going.

“There’s a lot of good players in this league,” Lindstein said. “To learn from all the players you see out there, it’s just a dream-come-true to be out there.”

Observations From Blues’ 5-4 Loss To Sharks

Observations From Blues’ 5-4 Loss To Sharks With playoff implications, Blues make plethora of uncharacteristic mistakes, none more so than in last minute of game that cost them at least a point, if not two after battling back; penalty kill let them down; power play brought life back

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