ST. LOUIS – Theo Lindstein understandably felt nerves on Tuesday.
The St. Louis Blues defenseman, who made his NHL debut in a 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders, did his best to keep his game face on. But undoubtedly, the first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft (No. 29, one of three in the lineup for the Blues on Tuesday) soaked in the atmosphere at this level and performed as well as can be expected.
“Fun. For sure, a dream-come-true,” Lindstein said postgame. “A little disappointed that we couldn’t get the two points here, but overall, I think we played a great game. We were hard to play against, a little bit disappointed we couldn’t get the two points.
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“I was a little bit nervous there in the beginning, but when the game started, I just came in pretty fast and felt good out there. It was a fun game to play.”
Lindstein had an assist and was a plus-1 in the game, playing 13:39 playing alongside Colton Parayko, and he didn’t look overwhelmed.
“Excellent. Really impressed with Lindstein,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “You could tell how well he skates. He uses his feet really well to carry pucks or move pucks, and then he used his feet really well to defend well too. Very encouraging first game.”
The 21-year-old was coming on at a greater clip at Springfield of the American Hockey League. However, he got quite the dose of just how things are done at this level, which made his skill set skating with the puck and foot movement all the more imperative.
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“Everyone up here is much better and go faster out there,” Lindstein said. “You have to think a little bit faster and quicker. It was fun.
“After a couple shifts. You’re coming into it pretty quick. It was fun. Disappointed we couldn’t get two points.”
Lindstein had no turnovers and/or giveaways in the game, and that’s impressive since the Islanders, who overcame a 3-0 deficit to win, pumped 49 shots at the Blues and Joel Hofer.
“I wanted to play my game, use my skating and my hockey sense out there and play as quick as possible, get my feet moving and I think I did that tonight,” Lindstein said. “It was fun.”
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Hofer, who made 45 saves, thought Lindstein fit right in.
“I thought he was great,” Hofer said. “I was super-excited to get him here and obviously excited for him to play his first game and get a point too is super-special.
“I try to talk to him and all the other guys, try to make it as comfortable as I can. Just do what I can to help him out there.”
Lindstein was on the ice with fellow 2023 first-round picks Dalibor Dvorsky (No. 10) and Otto Stenberg (No. 25), and the third wheel (Lindstein) was able to accomplish something the other two didn’t – earn a point in his NHL debut, and he most certainly heard the appreciation of the 18,096 at Enterprise Center.
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“It was pretty cool,” Lindstein said.
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