When the Edmonton Oilers training camp begins next month, some Oilers fans might think they’ve fallen asleep and woken up in the 90s. That’s because the NHL team’s camp roster could include a player by the name of Mats Lindgren.
A 6-foot defenceman who hails from Vancouver, Lindgren last week signed a one-year American Hockey League (AHL) contract with the Bakersfield Condors, Edmonton’s AHL affiliate. He’s the son of former NHL centre Mats Lindgren, who played parts of three seasons with the Oilers from 1996 to 1999.
SIGNED✍️
— Bakersfield Condors (@Condors) August 11, 2025
>> https://t.co/2NFJ6M9DvD pic.twitter.com/aliw8srQ9C
Yes, they both have the same name, and the son doesn’t go by the suffix of “junior” or “II”. He’s simply Mats Lindgren, just like his dad. So, for the sake of clarity in this article, the two Mats Lindgrens will be referred to as elder and younger.
The Elder Lindgren
The elder Lindgren spent seven seasons in the NHL, playing 387 games with the Oilers, New York Islanders and Vancouver Canucks. His best days came in Edmonton, where he was a solid bottom-six centre for the late 90s Oilers that pulled off monumental upsets in back-to-back postseasons.
Originally drafted 15th overall by the Winnipeg Jets in 1993, Lindgren was acquired by the Oilers on March 15, 1994, as part of a blockbuster trade. Edmonton received Boris Mironov, Lindgren, a 1994 first-round draft pick and a 1994 fourth-round selection in exchange for All-Star blueliner Dave Mason and a 1994 sixth-round pick.
Lindgren was playing in his native Sweden and didn’t come over to North America until 1995-96 when he joined Edmonton’s AHL affiliate at the time, the Cape Breton Oilers.
He made his NHL debut in 1996-97, scoring 11 goals and recording 14 assists in 69 games with the Oilers. Lindgren played in all 12 of Edmonton’s games in the 1997 Stanley Cup Playoffs and made the drop pass that set up Kelly Buchberger’s famous overtime goal against the Dallas Stars in Game 3 of the first round.
Related: Revisiting the Oilers’ Stunning 1998 Playoff Upset of the Avalanche
In 1997-98, Lindgren had the most productive offensive campaign of his NHL career, with 13 goals and 26 points. He was one of only two Oilers, along with Buchberger, to play in all 82 regular season games. The 6-foot-2 forward was a force in Edmonton’s first round Game 7 victory over the Colorado Avalanche, recording one goal, one assist, and four shots on goal, to go with a plus-2 rating.
Lingdren’s time in Edmonton came to an end on March 20, 1999, when he was dealt to the Islanders along with a 1999 eighth-round draft pick in exchange for netminder Tommy Salo. He played for the Isles until 2002, before concluding his career in Vancouver, where his son was born on Aug. 26, 2004. Which brings us to the younger Mats Lindgren.
The Younger Lindgren
The younger Lindgren had a lengthy junior career in the Western Hockey League (WHL), spanning nearly five years from his regular season debut in Sept. 2019 with the Kamloops Blazers to his last playoff game in April 2024 as a member of the Red Deer Rebels. He totalled 129 points in 220 regular season games and added another 21 in 38 postseason contests.
At the 2022 NHL Draft, Lindgren was selected in the fourth round, 106th overall, by the Buffalo Sabres. He had been projected to go a lot higher, in the second or third round, and was listed between 40-50 on most pre-draft rankings. The Hockey Writers’ draft prospect profile about Lindgren provided the following assessment of his NHL potential:
“At this point, it’s tough to know which version of Lindgren will emerge as he grows – will he become a top-four, 40-point playmaker from the blue line, or will he be a one-trick pony who fizzles out in the minors? Both outcomes seem possible, making him quite a risky pick, which has hurt his draft rankings. But the potential is there to blossom in a season or two, and it would be foolish to wait too long to grab such a dynamic offensive force.”
Lindgren was never able to get his foot in the door with the Sabres, who chose not to sign him to an NHL entry-level contract by the June 1, 2024, deadline. That left Lindgren free to sign with any team, and on July 12, 2024, he agreed to a one-year AHL contract with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, AHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The blueliner would only suit up for seven AHL games in 2024-25, however. He spent most of the season in the ECHL with the Wheeling Nailers. Lindgren played 56 games for Nailers, scoring seven times, most among all defencemen on the team, and adding 14 assists.
Like Father, Like Son?
There have been six father-son duos in Edmonton’s NHL history (Keith and Will Acton, Brian and Matt Benning, Kevin and Keegan Lowe, Frank and David Musil, Kent and Anders Nilsson, and Craig and Dillon Simpson). Will the younger Lindgren make it seven?
Obviously, the rearguard is a way’s off. He hasn’t even proven himself to be an AHL regular yet, never mind an NHLer. But the younger Lindgren is still young: he’ll turn 21 on Aug. 26. There’s still time for him to blossom into the player that many saw before the 2022 Draft.
There are examples in recent years of players who have signed an AHL contract with the Condors and parlayed that into an NHL deal with the Oilers, including defenceman Vincent Desharnais. The younger Lindgren can start himself on that path with a good showing in camp next month.
