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Cayden Lindstrom Is the Best Draft Prospect for the Chicago Blackhawks Outside of Macklin Celebrini

By Todd Welter |
/ Jonathan Kozub/GettyImages
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The Chicago Blackhawks currently have the second-best odds in the NHL Draft Lottery. If lightning strikes twice, the Hawks will get the opportunity to add another generational talent in Macklin Celebrini.

Let's not get our hopes up too quickly. We still have a long way to go before the ping-pong balls start to be pulled out. Plus, the Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets, or Ottawa Senators could trade off pieces before the deadline to become even worse than the Hawks.

Luck should also not be a strategy to build a team. That is not to say winning the draft lottery again would not be fantastic for the Hawks. Celebrini is an outstanding draft prospect on the same level as Connor Bedard. Having those two phenoms together would be amazing.

The odds currently say there is an 86.5% chance that the Blackhawks are not going to have that opportunity. Heck, you run the Tankathon.com/NHL SIM Lottery button five times and the Hawks never get the top pick. At least that is what I ran into. So banking on Celebrini coming to the Blackhawks should come with caution.

The Blackhawks are still in a good position to add an impact player in this year's draft. They are likely to have a top-five pick.

The Hawks could use another elite defenseman prospect. They certainly could use some more scoring at forward. What the Blackhawks' prospect pool really needs is size at forward. However, we know the Hawks front office is going to prioritize speed and skill along with character and hockey intelligence. They will not deviate from those traits.

At the same time, with the Blackhawks having seven picks in the first three rounds with two coming in the first, they could draft for size and not hurt their prospect pool. That is why the team should seriously consider drafting Cayden Lindstrom.

Adding a force like Cayden Lindstrom would add a player with size and skating ability.

That is why he is the perfect prospect for the Chicago Blackhawks to consider in the first-round if they lose the NHL Draft Lottery.

A left-handed shot, he is listed at six-foot, three inches and 216 pounds. Although he has been reported to be six-foot, four or five too.

That is a big skater who according to Sportsnet's Sam Cosentino write-up, "Has started to apply himself in a manner where he can take games over both physically and skillfully."

The Daily Faceoff's Steve Ellis wrote up, "From talking to a few WHL defenders, Lindstrom might be the most feared player in a 1-on-1 situation due to his combination of speed, skill and pure mass. The upside here is enormous – literally."

A force of nature on the ice is another way he has been described.

Imagine having that type of player on the United Center ice.

Various scouting sites have him ranked all over the place, but he is considered a top-10 prospect. The NHL Central Scouting has him as their third-best prospect. Elite Prospects ranks him fourth. TSN's Bob McKenzie ranks Lindstrom as his fifth-best prospect.

Lindstrom brings speed, physicality, and skill to the ice according to Elite Prospects.

Lindstrom already has a great shot, but he has improved his assist game to become a complete offensive player.

He currently has 27 goals and 19 assists for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL.

With his size, he can help out on a defense too. It looks like he is willing to put in the work to improve his game.

This is a projectible second-line center behind Bedard that the Blackhawks could use. Heck, you could move him to wing and pair him with Bedard and hopefully Oliver Moore for an impactful top line.

Think of him being added like when Marian Hossa was brought to Chicago. That is not to say he will be a future Hall of Famer with his number in the United Center rafters. It is more of just adding a big, fast, and physical skater to a lineup that was undersized at forward.

The Chicago Blackhawks have plenty of options and a lot of homework to do on all the draft prospects. Lindstrom right now looks like the perfect choice if they do not land the No. 1 overall pick.

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