Red Wings Grades: The Young Defensemen
By Alex Faber
Gustav Lindstrom
2021 Statline
Games Played: 13
Goals: 0
Assists: 3
+-: 1
Preseason Projection
Borderline NHLer
2021 Season in a Nutshell
Like Cholowski, Gustav Lindstrom spent a good chunk of his season in Grand Rapids. Because of his defensive style, Lindstrom didn’t quite have the stats that Cholowski did with the Griffins, but he did show promise as a low-risk reliable player on the blue line.
After appearing on the main roster, Lindstrom essentially lived up to those expectations. While his possession metrics are a bit ugly (40.8 CF%), the eye test showed a player relatively comfortable as a low-pairing NHL defenseman. Lindstrom made clean tape-to-tape passes (The best of which being a slick slide to Jakub Vrana for his first goal of the season) and didn’t make too many defensive mistakes.
They Said It
"“I don’t want to downplay the word ‘simple’ … I would say he just tends to make the right play. The right play might be the simple play and the right play might be a cross-seam play. He just makes the right play that’s available and manages risk-reward real well.”"
-Jeff Blashill via the Detroit News
Final Grade
Detroit Red Wings. GUSTAV LINDSTROM. C+. It wasn’t flashy or exciting, but Lindstrom’s appearance on the main roster was solid. While he didn’t drive the offense quite like Cholowski, he played a safe and reliable defensive game, something that fits well into Jeff Blashill’s system. The problem with Lindstrom is, this is likely all fans will ever see: a safe bottom-pairing option. His upside is not very high, but it is a good sign that he already looks comfortable on an NHL team. With the expansion draft approaching, Lindstrom could very well be a casualty lost to Seattle. But if he’s not, he’ll probably stay on the main roster next year, continuing to make those crisp passes and playing it safe with the team’s bottom pairings.. Defenseman
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