Theo Lindstein's start to his NHL career has been better than advertised; the 21-year-old is guarded about things though. He understands he's only scratching the surface, there's plenty more to learn
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- It was a sample size of 17 games last season that showed plenty of promise.
Sure, keep the excitement guarded. Allow the player time to develop. There will be ups and downs.
Theo Lindstein is only 21 years old, but the first-round pick (No. 29) in the 2023 NHL Draft made such a good impression on the St. Louis Blues last season, they’ve enabled him to pick up where he left off, or see if he can stay the course and play in the same role alongside Colton Parayko in the top four on the defensive unit.
Lindstein was given the ice time (averaged 15:46 per game) and had four points (two goals, two assists) in those 17 games while being a plus-6. There was no sugar-coating his inception into the NHL. Lindstein was given the green light and so far he’s passed all tests.
Now comes the real test.
“Of course it was fun to be up here,” Lindstein said. “It was a dream come true to play my first couple of NHL games. You probably soaked it in a little bit more when you got home (to Sweden). But yeah, obviously I'm proud of what I did. Now it's a new season, you're starting from zero and you're here to take a spot.”
He won’t have to take a spot. He’s earned it, and coach Jim Montgomery gave Lindstein the highest praise imaginable.
“Him and Parayko just look like an NHL pairing that can make hay and they can play against top lines because of the way they skate and their gaps and they don’t over-complicate the game, especially Lindstein,” Montgomery said. “He might be our best defenseman at moving it up to the forwards and supporting it right away. As soon as someone’s open, boom, it’s tape-to-tape and it’s gone.”
Think about that for a moment. The guy with the least amount of experience among the Blues’ blue liners might be their best d-man at moving pucks up to the forwards.
This is a fast game, the fastest in the world at the NHL level, and Lindstein is so agile, so adept at something so critical, something defensemen need in their tool box in order to have success. He gets the puck and moves it quicker than he gets it, it seems.
“I've always been playing a simple game,” Lindstein said. “I'm just trying to get back and give the puck to the forwards as fast as possible. That's what we (defensemen) are supposed to do, just give it up to them. But obviously it's a thing that I've been doing a lot since I was a kid, too, and I think the quicker I pass the puck up to the forwards, we can just go for offense. That's a big thing of my game, but I have a lot of other things to keep working on and improve. But yeah, it's a good thing.”
But this isn’t Lindstein’s first rodeo at executing such plays. This is a player that’s had to grow up fast playing in the SHL (Swedish Hockey League) the past three seasons as well as represent his country at the World Junior Championship. He learned fast that getting pucks and moving them are imperative to success.
“That's a good question. I don't know actually,” Lindstein said. “I think it starts when I was young. Like I said, I've always been a good moving defenseman with a good first pass. I would say that's been a big thing for me my whole career. I've been doing that a lot in Sweden. The ice is bigger in Sweden, so it works out really well. When I got over here, I feel like I've been taking that with me over here to the smaller rink. It goes a little bit quicker over here, and you've got to do it a little bit quicker all the time. But yeah, I don't know where it started, but it's something that I've been doing my entire career.”
And in doing so, it’s made Parayko’s job easier. Parayko doesn’t have to stay back all the time and try to be a buffer to a kid that’s learning on the fly, at least not all the time.
“For sure. He always makes the right play breaking out,” Parayko said. “That's how he complements me. He gets the puck up to the forwards and it allows me to jump up and be aggressive that way, too, which I always enjoy doing, trying to be that second wave. When you get it to the forwards, we can jump up as ‘D,’ especially if it's a clean play, it always us to jump up and join the rush.
“… I think he's been playing really well. It's just good to get back in and get some reps with him. So far we've been paired up, which has been great. Just the same as last year, smart guy and skates well, but he thinks the game well and he's always got his stick in the right place. Yeah, he's been great.”
Lindstein’s play has also made a better player out of Parayko, complementing the things he does well.
“A lot, I think. Just the way that he can defend pucks with his stick always in the right place, it gives me the opportunity to be aggressive,” Parayko said. “He always seems to be in the right place, so when I have that, I feel like I can always jump in, be aggressive myself and play fast, too. Very impressive for only playing, I don't even know how many games.
“Seventeen games? To only play that many and seem to be in with the speed and to be in the right spot a lot of times, I know that's hard to do. It complements me a lot of ways. Sometimes you just click with someone, it's kind of funny how it works. Good chemistry in the O-zone and the D-zone, kind of reach off each other well, just little things like that.”
Not only does Lindstein, who led the Blues in minutes played in a 2-1 preseason loss to the Dallas Stars Saturday at 23:32, move pucks smoothly, quickly and efficiently in transition, he seems to always be in the right positions defensively. For someone who’s not overly big (6-foot-0, 187 pounds), he finds a way to be in the right spots on the ice.
“He looks confident out there,” Montgomery said. “He's playing to his strengths, which is his skating, to eliminate plays defensively and to help us offensively. And then his breakouts and his neutral-zone transition is right up there, if not the best, on our team. He doesn't fool around with the puck. He doesn't over-complicate things. As soon as someone is open, it's off his tape and it's on their tape and the forwards can go.”
And who better to learn from for Lindstein than Parayko, who was in a similar position in 2015 when he first burst into the league, then ultimately played with – and learned from – Jay Bouwmeester.
“He's an awesome guy. He's an awesome D-partner to play with out there,” Lindstein said. “The biggest thing I would say is how much he talks out there. He makes everything so much easier when I hear him on my left side all the time when I go down for pucks and when I have him on my right side when I'm looking up on the ice. He takes care of me and he helps me out if I ask something. It can be those small details out there. Today we talked a lot about PK. That's something I want to improve more on. Yeah, we talk a lot out there, and I think that's a good thing to have that conversation out there. It makes everything so much easier when we're out there working together.”
With defensemen, communication is key.
“For sure. Well, on ice communication is huge, but even off-ice communication, just like, 'Hey what do you see there? Hey, what's this look like,’” Parayko said. “Sometimes we'll do a little sit-down video together and just make sure we're on the same page. He's like a sponge right now, which is really impressive. When you get a guy like that that you get to play with, especially for myself, it's like, 'OK, he's ready to learn, he wants to get better.' From my perspective, that's really cool and I'm going to help him out as much as possible. When you have someone willing to learn, it gets you excited.”
For Lindstein, he was a little surprised he’d be back with Parayko upon returning from Sweden, despite the success last season and wasn’t expecting it.
“Not really. I just tried to work hard this summer and just focused on everything that I can focus on,” he said. “When I got here, playing with Parayko, he's a great player, someone you want to have on your right side out there. It was a nice feeling, of course, but the biggest thing (is) what you do after that. It feels good to be out there with him, (but) I've got a lot to do and I'm just going to keep working on it.”
It includes being more assertive offensively and allow that part of his game to build.
“Yeah, for sure. I think I have that in me and I'm just going to have to show it, be a little more confident out there with the puck, follow up on the rushes and be a threat when you're coming up there,” Lindstein said. “Of course I feel that I have it inside, I'm just going to have to show it.
“… It's one thing I have to improve on. I'm not the biggest guy out there, but I just have to find my ways to defend, like we talked about a couple of days ago -- to get in his body and to get in there and be strong on your stick. I'm not going to probably run over someone out there, but you can be smart and use your feet and have a good stick out there and that will help a lot. That's probably how I'll have to improve on.”
Will Lindstein make mistakes? Yes. He still has a long way to go and plenty of games to play to be as close to his best, but the more reps he gets and the more he makes the right reads, the right decisions, the right plays and right covers with as few mistakes as he’s making, the better he will be in the long run and the better the Blues will be for having selected him and having him part of their organization.
“You've just got to work on a daily basis,” Lindstein said. “I mean, you've just got to do what you've got to do every day, get better in practice, try to focus on every game and take it from there. Try to do everything as good as possible.
“… I just kept working on those off-ice things (this past summer back home), like everything I did last summer, too, to get prepared to come over here. So I did the same thing. I was working out a lot, I was skating a lot this summer, too. I was skating almost four or five times a week. I like to be out there and just keep working on those skills, just be out there and have fun. That's a big thing. It was a great summer. It was nice to be back home and see family and friends, too. But it's nice to be back here.”
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
