Canucks fans; what can Seattle expect out of Lind, can he play in their top-6 right away?
Player description
positives - nice hands, good stick, lanky with a good reach, agitator, really good vision for a winger, above average passer, smart positionally with some versatility at C or RW
negatives - slow first steps, a bit of a slug by NHL standards, gets rubbed out too easy and loses way too many battles to loose pucks, defense is a work in progress but not terrible, shot is a bit of a muffin, no dynamic qualities that scream top6. Does what a lot of tweeners do...not fast enough not strong enough not skilled enough to push into a fixed NHL spot currently
Ironically he was bumped by a player (Jason Dickinson) who's development took him down a long winding slow path to the NHL and ended up with him being a up and down utility player that would probably be what the hope for Lind is at 22 (23 this fall). Lind has more offensive minded chops but has far less of the strength and defensive prowess to mirror Jason Dickinson though and still was not in the plans for the Canucks this year a team that needed scoring depth in a desperate way.
He's waivers eligible and won't fit a 4th line very well and still needs to develop more. My best comp would be a weaker Josh Leivo with better passing, agitating but a worse shot. It's too bad because if he had more strength with his smarts and skill he could be a good 2/3 line tweener but haven't seen noticeable improvement since he was drafted to suggest he will get there.
Hope the best for him