Senators fans have had a genuine interest in the Memorial Cup the past two years, and rightfully so.
The previous instalment of the CHL’s best-of-the-best tournament showcased Ottawa’s beloved youngster Curtis Lazar playing in the final games of his junior career. In dramatic fashion, Lazar scored the game-winning goal during triple overtime in the semi-final to send the Edmonton Oil Kings to the championship game. The final was a lot less theatric as the Oil Kings steamrolled the Guelph Storm 6-3 and were named Memorial Cup champions.
Lazar won junior hockey’s biggest prize, and now it might be time for another Senator to accomplish the same feat.
Tobias Lindberg, a fourth-round pick of the Senators, is certainly making an impression. While his Oshawa Generals have earned a spot in the Cup final after going undefeated in round robin play, Lindberg is putting his scoring ability on display.
He already has three goals in three games (adding on an assist, as well), but none have been more meaningful – and prettier, I might add – than his game-winner Tuesday night.
Slick toe drag by @tlindberg7 puts Generals up 2-0 #MCMemorialCup http://t.co/80imo0Y5Pa
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 27, 2015
Lindberg sits one point behind the tournament’s scoring leader and his team sits one win away from a Memorial Cup.
A Future Senator
Everyone remembers the trade Ottawa made with the Tampa Bay Lightning that saw Ben Bishop swapped for Cory Conacher, but some forget that the Senators also got a draft pick with that deal. That pick turned out to be, you guessed it, Lindberg.
So maybe not all is lost in what some were calling a disastrous exchange.
Believe it or not, as a 19-year-old, Lindberg is a rookie in the OHL. The Senators reportedly convinced him to come overseas and continue his hockey career in North America after spending three years with Djurgårdens, the Swedish Elite League’s junior team.
Finishing with 78 points in 67 games during the OHL’s regular season, Lindberg continued his success into the playoffs where he produced at nearly a point-per-game pace.
Though he is seen as more of a playmaker, that doesn’t stop Lindberg from revealing that he may very well be just as good at putting the puck in the net off his own stick. For example, when he had a natural hat trick in the first period of Game 1 in the first round of the OHL playoffs against the Peterborough Petes.
Though he is eligible for one more season with the Generals in the OHL, don’t be at all surprised if Lindberg is with the Senators AHL affiliate in Binghamton next year.
He won’t have much of a shot at all in making the NHL squad out of training camp as Ottawa’s roster is so jam-packed at the moment, but there’s no doubt that Lindberg will be up with the big club in no time at all.
For now, we’ll just keep comparing the likelihood of his professional success with each and every playoff game Bishop wins.
