It was reported earlier this season that Columbus Blue Jackets’ top prospect Cayden Lindstrom would be heading to Michigan State University in the fall—and now it’s official.

Back in March, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic noted that Lindstrom was likely to take the NCAA route, with Michigan State as the expected destination. On Tuesday morning, Portzline confirmed the report in a new article after speaking with Lindstrom directly.

Lindstrom had this to say:

“It was a really hard decision to leave Medicine Hat,” Lindstrom said. “(GM and coach) Willy Desjardins, and (assistant coaches) Joe Frazer and Josh Maser were such great supporters for me in my career. It was super hard, but I’m heading to Michigan State. I committed there, and that’s where I’ll be playing."

After missing 13 months due to a back injury, Lindstrom returned to the Medicine Hat Tigers and helped them reach the Memorial Cup Final before falling to the London Knights.

He also spoke with Portzline about the status of his injury:

“(My back) is a lot better. It’s still going to take some time to fully feel (like) myself again. That’s what it’s like when you miss a full year of hockey. But the rest of it (the herniated disc in his lower back) is behind me.”

Now, Lindstrom will head back home to British Columbia and focus on getting back into form before the fall, hoping to make an immediate impact at Michigan State.

As Portzline noted, the Blue Jackets haven’t signed Lindstrom to an entry-level contract yet because they were aware of his strong interest in college hockey. If he had signed an ELC, he would have been ineligible to play in the NCAA.

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