Player Preview: Hampus Lindholm

Mar 5, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Montreal Canadiens right wing Dale Weise (22) attempts a shot while defended by Anaheim Ducks defenseman Hampus Lindholm (47) during the first period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Strengths:

Hampus Lindholm has a lot of size for the blue-line position. For someone of his size, Lindholm has an excellent skating stride and can move across the rink very easily. He is calm and very poised on the back end: Lindholm deciphers situations and makes the right play under pressure. Lindholm also possesses tremendous ice vision, which aids him as an excellent passer, both when exiting the zone and on the rush. He’s also a very intelligent player: he has a keen understanding of when it is appropriate to jump into play in the offensive zone. Lindholm has crazy endurance, as evidenced by his VO2 Max time at the Combine. This means he has the capability of logging huge minutes at the NHL level. The combination of all these factors means Lindholm has loads of two-way potential: he can be an excellent shut-down defender with his size and speed, but he can also be a point producer from the back end. Lindholm also has the potential to be a quarterback on the power play.