The problem with prospect development is that it’s bloody hard. Players have to develop their skill sets, they have to develop physically and they have to develop mentally into professional athletes who are dedicated to their craft…
And all three of those developmental curves have to intersect at the same time for a player to succeed at the professional level.
As Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff suggests this morning, 24-year-old Gustav Lindstrom just never quite developed into the middle-pair defenseman that the Red Wings hoped he’d become, and that’s why the Wings chose to trade Lindstrom to the Montreal Canadiens in the Jeff Petry trade:
Though he was never going to be an NHL star, there was a sense that Lindstrom could develop into a servicable NHL rearguard when he was first given the call to Detroit during the 2019-20 season. He competed, played within his abilities and seldom was caught out of position.
“(I) just try to play a simple game, move the puck quick to the forwards and make it easy for them,” Lindstrom said. “I’ve been that same player my whole career.”
However, it didn’t take long for NHL opponents to unearth the weakness in Lindstrom’s game, mainly his below-average footwork on his skates. Soon, they were exploiting his shortcomings.
Last season, it all came to a head. The wheels completely came off Lindstrom’s game.
After playing 63 games for Detroit in 2021-22, he played only 36 last season. He was -16 in those games. His average playing time fell from 16:07 in 2021-22 to 14:10.
Continued; Lindstrom is one of those defensemen who can get caught “turning” on his skates to retrieve pucks instead of skating into them, and while skating can always be taught, I’ve felt that Lindstrom’s upper-body strength never reached an NHL level.
If you’re not a great skater and you’re not strong enough to deal with the physical contact that’s going to come from your inability to out-skate opponents to the puck in your own zone, you’re going to turn the puck over with regularity, and that’s not ideal.
Now I fully believe that Gustav can develop into a steady NHL defenseman, but it’s going to take hard work for him to find his eventual form.
