Elias Lindholm - Still under the radar?

[rangerdanger]

Lindholm is a guy a lot of people have given up on. When he first came into the league, a lot of people invested in him in dynasty leagues and as a prospect. Many if not most have seemed to have given up hope that he could still become that player.

But last season, especially the second half, he quietly went about racking up the majority of his point total in like 30 games. His per game numbers for that period were extremely impressive. If you extrapolate the numbers he put up in that end period, for an entire season, he becomes a 60 to 70 point player with terrific peripheral stats. Especially considering he has C/RW eligible in some formats and gets about 300 to 400 FW. In leagues that count SHP, he had 5 last season. Which is actually very high for any player, but especially a player that did most of his scoring in a smaller window.

Going into this season, I hardly hear anyone discussing him. He's still just 22 years old though and I think is poised to actually break out. Players like Monahan, MacKinnon and even RNH seem to continuously get the benefit of the doubt year to year, despite not reaching their assumed potential. They are all either 22 or older I believe. Yet for some reason, Lindholm falls by the way side. I think a lot of people are missing out on him. There is every reason to believe he can and will still reach the potential many thought he would when entering the league. Especially on a Carolina team that has a great number of offensive weapons that just keep improving.

He's definitely one of my biggest sleepers entering the year and I will be attempting to get him in leagues that I don't have him.

Just curious what others think about him. Why is he continuously overlooked and why do most seem to lose their faith in him despite him being only 22?

[The Bottlenecker]

I think he gets forgotten because he plays in Carolina.

[hipcheck]

ssssshhhhhhh ............we are still drafting.

beat the drum hard after 0ct 5th!!!

Just J/K

[Belexus75]

i like him but its been a while and he has not been great so far..

[Magicstew]

Hoping he breaks out this year.

[Avalanche_Ambush]

Playing on a team like Carolina that doesn't have much fan fare is one reason why he's not talked about much. Also the fact the team basically scores by commitee doesn't make that teams players viewed as good fantasy assets. As a Lindholm owner I believe the breakout will come... it's just taking alot longer then it did for monahan,rnh,mackinnon (they all hit about 60 points early in their careers). An interesting thing I've noticed is Lindholm was drafted 5th overall...excluding the last two drafts since it's too early to tell there seems to be a trend of guys being selected 5th overall that haven't panned out or failed to meet expectations. The last star player to be selected 5th was Kessel back in 2006...maybe getting picked 5th is a curse when it comes to fantasy relevance?

[rangerdanger]

Playing on a team like Carolina that doesn't have much fan fare is one reason why he's not talked about much. Also the fact the team basically scores by commitee doesn't make that teams players viewed as good fantasy assets. As a Lindholm owner I believe the breakout will come... it's just taking alot longer then it did for monahan,rnh,mackinnon (they all hit about 60 points early in their careers). An interesting thing I've noticed is Lindholm was drafted 5th overall...excluding the last two drafts since it's too early to tell there seems to be a trend of guys being selected 5th overall that haven't panned out or failed to meet expectations. The last star player to be selected 5th was Kessel back in 2006...maybe getting picked 5th is a curse when it comes to fantasy relevance?

Heh/ Could be a curse, more likely coincidence. But yea, I think that breakout will come. Carolina will settle into its lines eventually. As Aho, Rask, Lindholm, Teravainen mature I think they will start holding down the top 2 lines. Skinner I think is the "name" on that team, but I see him as more of a 2nd line winger. Maybe even 3rd if someone else steps up. When Necas is ready, I think he will Center the top line with Aho and Lindholm. Then probably the 2nd line Skinner Rask and Teravainen. Or something like that. But either way, I think those will be the top 6 for Carolina for at least a few years. If Lindholm does stay on that top line eventually, especially with a playmaker like Aho opposite him, and a guy who looks like he can be a star in Necas, I think Lindholm will have everything he needs to succeed. He will be the power forward of the line, but a productive one. That's my guess at least.

[Axeman33]

I am not sure he's under the radar anymore but I guess it depends on how much your league pays attention.

[butch]

love this guy but I find carolina spreads the offense around so I suspect nobody really busts through the 70 point barrier but they'll have alot of guys with 40-60.

he seems to be a slow starter too but comes on strong jan>>april

[bondon]

It's definitely still early on in his development, and I do think that part of the reason is because he plays for Carolina. But I think in a lot of cases a player goes from being underrated to being overrated really quickly in fantasy hockey.

I look at Carolina and barring Skinner, Aho, and Faulk I don't see a whole lot of players I would run out to grab unless it was a deeper league (at least 12 teams if not more). The rest of the guys fall into a pretty common group to me which are ~45-50 point guys with relatively average peripherals (I think saying he had terrific peripheral stats is a huge overstatement, they're good but not terrific and aside from getting blocks at the F position he doesn't seem to excel in anything).

I'm intrigued though and will keep an eye on him.

[yougo]

Heh/ Could be a curse, more likely coincidence. But yea, I think that breakout will come. Carolina will settle into its lines eventually. As Aho, Rask, Lindholm, Teravainen mature I think they will start holding down the top 2 lines. Skinner I think is the "name" on that team, but I see him as more of a 2nd line winger. Maybe even 3rd if someone else steps up. When Necas is ready, I think he will Center the top line with Aho and Lindholm. Then probably the 2nd line Skinner Rask and Teravainen. Or something like that. But either way, I think those will be the top 6 for Carolina for at least a few years. If Lindholm does stay on that top line eventually, especially with a playmaker like Aho opposite him, and a guy who looks like he can be a star in Necas, I think Lindholm will have everything he needs to succeed. He will be the power forward of the line, but a productive one. That's my guess at least.

37 goal scorer 2nd line winger.

[StuntMan12]

What are your projections on him? Currently I have him down for 18+35 for 53 points.

[Fighting_Emu]

Hes primed for a breakout like crazy. He started the season averaging like negative six seconds of powerplay time. It was a development year and the coach was challenging his work ethic and defensive play from the get go from what I understand. I know mot people wont want to extrapolate over a 30 game periodbut this is a top pick who still passes the eye test like crazy. Hes probably Carolinas MOST skilled player- including both Skinner and Aho (debatable- but he literally is in that mix). I dont think its an anomoly at all. Im not banking on 70 but to take a step into the 60 point range would be a great step forward this year. Hes just awesome- every magazine i read just looks and sees "hmm- 41, 41,- lets just go 45". He was an absolute monster down the stretch.Youre right that 22 is not old at all by NHL standards- not every player comes out scorching hot. I think hes found his consistency- I think he knows he has to earn his opportunities- and I think the rest of the league needs to be served notice...

[ericdaoust]

Modest breakout season coming up here, 50-55 points

[fantasyhockeygeek]

I agree that Lindholm is well primed for a breakout. If not this year, then he'll lose a lot of my confidence that the breakout is coming.

In a lot of ways, it mirrors how I felt about Granlund last offseason.