Lindstrom was the first player from Medicine Hat to be selected among the top 10 since Cam Barker was picked No. 3 by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2004.
“I was excited,” Lindstrom said. “All my meetings went well with them. They’re all really good people. I train with some of the guys on Columbus and it seems they have a lot of things happening. I’m so happy to be a Columbus Blue Jacket.”
Tij Iginla, a center with Kelowna (WHL) and the son of Hockey Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla, was the first pick ever made by the Utah Hockey Club at No. 6. He was chosen earlier than his father, who was selected No. 11 by the Dallas Stars in the 1995 NHL Draft.
“I’ve been hearing that story (of being drafted higher) a little bit but I guess I have to keep building my resume if I want to stack it up against what Dad did in his NHL career,” Iginla said.
A record two Norway-born players were picked in the first round: right wing Michael Brandsegg-Nygard of Mora in Sweden’s second division went No. 15 to the Detroit Red Wings and defenseman Stian Solberg of Valerenga in Norway’s top professional men’s league No. 23 to the Anaheim Ducks, who moved up eight spots in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“This has been a dream for me for so long and now I reached my dream and I’m just going to keep going and hopefully be an NHL player soon,” Brandsegg-Nygard said.
USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program Under-18 team had two players selected in the first round: left wing Cole Eiserman (No. 20, New York Islanders) and defenseman Eric Emery (No. 30, New York Rangers).
Eiserman (6-0, 197), committed to Boston University for 2024-25, scored 58 goals in 57 games this season and became the program’s all-time leader with 127 goals in 119 games. Emery (6-3, 183), committed to the University of North Dakota in 2024-25, had 16 assists in 61 games with the NTDP U-18 team this season.
Demidov was the first of four Russia-born players selected in the first round when he went No. 5 to the Canadiens. The left-handed shot (6-0, 192) led St. Petersburg’s team in the MHL, Russia’s junior league, with 60 points (23 goals, 37 assists) in 30 games.
He was joined by countrymen Anton Silayev (No. 10, New Jersey Devils), a defenseman with Torpedo in the Kontinental Hockey League, center Egor Surin (No. 22, Nashville Predators) of Yaroslavl in Russia’s junior league, and right wing Matvei Gridin (No. 28, Calgary Flames) of Muskegon in the United States Hockey League.
New Jersey drafted Silayev with the understanding his KHL contract with Torpedo runs through 2025-26.
“I have new goals now; and at the top of that is winning the Stanley Cup,” Silayev said through an interpreter.
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