The Florida Panthers selected forward Owen Lindmark in the fifth round (137th overall) at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft back in June at Rogers Place in Vancouver, one pick after they selected Henrik Rybinski.
In the season prior to being chosen by the Cats, Lindmark played in 56 games for the United States National Development Program team and scored 11 goals and 14 assists. He also represented his country at the U18 IIHF World Championship in Sweden and scored one goal in seven games and won a bronze medal.
I had previously done two check-ins (November and January) with Florida’s 2019 draft class as they began the 2019-20 season, so we’ll start with that text and then see how he finished off the campaign before it was first postponed and then ultimately canceled six days later due to the coronavirus.
November: A graduate of the US National Team Development Program, Lindmark is off to an impressive start to his NCAA career with 4 goals and 6 assists in 14 games with the University of Wisconsin, a rather middling team in the Big Ten. Overshadowed by bigger names on the USNTDP, the talented center might turn out to be a sneaky good pick by Tallon Inc. in the fifth round.
January: Interesting… After getting off to a much better start than his fellow fifth-rounder in Rybinski, Lindmark is falling off as young Henrik ascends. Lindmark has scored just one goal and two assists in his last ten games. With 13 points in 24 games as a freshman, Lindmark’s overall numbers are still pretty good for someone stepping up a rung in competition. Hopefully, he’ll get it going again for Wisconsin over the remainder of the regular season.
May: Lindmark finished the third segment of his first year with the Badgers by notching another goal, against Arizona State on February 22, and three more assists over the final 12 games of the season. He finished his freshman campaign with six goals and 11 assists to go along with a +5 rating and 8 PIM. He won 148 of the 286 faceoffs (51.7%) he took over the course of the season.
Overall, the hard-working two-way center had a solid season as a freshman with the University of Wisconsin. Lindmark needs more development time in Madison before he turns pro. Perhaps in the coming years, he can hone the offensive side of his game to make himself a more well-rounded prospect.
What does the future hold for Lindmark?
| NHL third liner | 12 |
| NHL fourth liner | 6 |
| NHL/AHL “tweener” | 7 |
| Strictly minor-league fodder | 9 |