ST. PAUL, Minn. – If there’s a silver lining attached to the Avalanche being so far out of the playoff race so early in the season, itap been an opportunity to take a look at some of what the future may hold. If players such as rookie defenseman Anton Lindholm are any indication, the Avs may have a lower profile and a quicker pace by October.
“He’s an interesting guy because he’s a really strong skater. Smaller stature guy but he plays a real physical, aggressive game,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said of Lindholm before the Swedish blueliner played in his 10th NHL game. “His skating is his best asset because he’s able to play tight gaps, he closes quickly in the defensive zone and he’s a good first-pass guy. He’s an aggressive defender.”
Aiding in Lindholm’s transition to NHL-level speed has been Bednar’s decision to often pair the rookie with one of the team’s true veterans on the back end.
“Playing with (Francois) Beauchemin, who has played 900 games in the league, it helps,” said Lindholm, who was called up March 15 after playing the first 59 games of the season with Colorado’s AHL team in San Antonio. “He’s vocal out there and talks a lot to me so he’s my extra set of eyes.”
Lindholm was the Avs’ fifth-round pick in the 2014 draft and played parts of four seasons in the Swedish Elite League before making his North American debut this season. The ability to see what players like Lindholm can contribute as been the best part of the past month the Avs have spent playing out the string, says Bednar.
If you look at some of the guys we’ve picked up here, we picked up (Matt) Nieto at the deadline and he’s provided some speed. He’s moved up to our top line and adds some playmaking ability,” Bednar said. “Then we added (J.T.) Compher from San Antonio and (Tyson) Jost and Lindholm, so we’re getting smaller, we’re getting faster and we’re getting more competitive. The speed of our game has picked up a little bit and we’re more exciting to watch now.”
Typical of the Avs’ hard luck this season, Lindholm didn’t finish Sunday’s game and is still looking for his first NHL point. He went hard into the end boards early in the third period and suffered a cut on the head. After the bleeding stopped, he went out for one abbreviated shift, then headed down the tunnel to the locker room and did not return.
“He banged his leg when he went into the end boards there hard,” Bednar said. “I haven’t talked to the trainers yet, but I don’t think itap anything major thatap going to keep him out long-term or anything. He just was unable to finish the game.”
