Anaheim Ducks Player Grades: Hampus Lindholm
January 30, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Anaheim Ducks defenseman Hampus Lindholm (47) celebrates a goal scored by center Ryan Getzlaf (15) against the Philadelphia Flyers during the second period at Honda Center. Lindholm contributed an assist to the goal. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
What can I say about Hampus Lindholm? The Anaheim Ducks surprised people when they took him 6th overall, but people aren’t so surprised anymore. Hampus made the team out of training camp and he staked a claim to a roster spot with his solid performances early on in the season.
Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Regular Season:
Hampus played excellent two-way defense to start the season after not dressing for the first two games. He made his NHL debut on October 6th, 2013 against the Winnipeg Jets. He tallied his first career NHL point on October 13th, 2013 against the Ottawa Senators, retro night. With his very solid two-way game and high-flying offense at the start of the season, Hampus earned a staggering +9 in his first five NHL games. Hampus scored his first career NHL goal on November 6th against the Phoenix Coyotes. His professional manner on and off the ice was incredible and he played the game with a calmness rarely found in players his age (20). It also doesn’t hurt being paired with Francois Beauchemin. Of course there were some rough spots along the way, but they are vastly out-shadowed by the positives.
Regular Season Stats:
| GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | SH | GWG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78 | 6 | 24 | 30 | 29 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Regular Season Grade: A
Apr 9, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Anaheim Ducks defenseman Hampus Lindholm (47) celebrates with right wing Teemu Selanne (8) in the second period against the San Jose Sharks at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Playoffs:
The playoffs put a different kind of pressure on players, especially rookies, and Hampus was no exception. Hampus went pointless and went -3 during the series against the Dallas Stars. He was not as sharp as he was during the regular season. He had a little bit of a neck issue that cost him to miss Game 6 of that series and he did not dress for Game 5, even though he reportedly would’ve played if he was put in the lineup so it was not due to his neck. He remained pointless in the playoffs until Game 3 of the series against the Los Angeles Kings. It wasn’t exactly surprising to see him kind of flounder in the playoffs. However, honestly, it doesn’t take away from how good of a regular season he had.
Playoff Stats:
| GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | SH | GWG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Playoff Grade: C
Top Highlight:
Future:
This year was just the first of many more to come for Hampus Lindholm. He established himself as a staple along the blue line. You could say that at this moment right now, Hampus is the third best defenseman on the roster, behind only Cam Fowler and Francois Beauchemin. He’s already shown a great hockey IQ and great overall skill, but he will need to continue to fill out his 6’3″ frame to be able to out muscle players at the NHL level. However, I can’t really give any kind of a negative critique after his rookie season. It’s also not very hard to take a guess at what everyone is going to give to Hampus as a grade for the season.
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