Avalanche season grades: Anton Lindholm

Anton Lindholm finished his second season of pro hockey in North America with the Avalanche.

Overview

Lindholm came into the year as a bit of a coaching staff favorite who we expected would see plenty of ice time because of it. While he saw action in 48 games, his play overall was unremarkable to say the least. He exhibited the same smart defense with an active and disruptive stick we saw at the end of the 2016-17 season and despite being a bit undersized he continued to step up and play a physical brand of hockey.

Those were about all of the positives though as his play with the puck never really developed and he was far too much of an unpredictable adventure, especially when trying to clear his own zone. He simply looked like a guy who was overwhelmed by the speed of the NHL and couldn’t match his decision making with the pace of play.

As the season wore on, Lindholm’s play never really improved to the point where he could justify being kept in the lineup. He struggled with a shoulder injury throughout the year as a result of his hard-nosed mentality in his own zone but the Avalanche defense improved and got healthy enough around him that he became a regular healthy scratch at the end of the season. He didn’t appear in the postseason and was an afterthought by the end of the year.

Biggest Moment

Not many to choose from here as he was a quiet guy offensively but he had the primary assist on the game-winning goal in Colorado’s 5-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres on February 11. That game also saw him put two shots on goal, add three hits, and he was a plus-three on the game.

What’s Next

Tough question here. The Avalanche have already brought back Mark Alt and Mark Barberio on what is going to be an increasingly crowded blueline. With Patrik Nemeth slated to return whenever he gets his contract situation sorted out, there are six solid returning defensemen already in place (Johnson/Barrie/Zadorov/Girard/Nemeth/Barberio) with Nicolas Meloche and Conor Timmins looking to press for time as well as top D prospects. That leaves Alt and Lindholm as two guys who are going to struggle to find ice time in next year’s rotation. It would not be a surprise to see Lindholm return to Sweden if he does not make the NHL roster next season.

Final Grade

C-.

I like Anton Lindholm. He’s a limited player who works really hard and puts it all out there every night. He plays in such a way that is very taxing on an undersized body and he plays through a lot of little injuries because of it. But the reality is that he isn’t good enough defensively to make up for his completely non-existent offensive profile. He had four points in 48 games and three of them came in his final nine appearances on the year.

He was a passable stopgap in the event of injury issues but this year he showed he likely is not primed for a lengthy NHL career.