2018 NHL Draft: Buffalo Sabres select Linus Lindstrand Cronholm

The Buffalo Sabres drafted defenseman Linus Lindstrand Cronholm with their second fourth-round pick of the 2018 NHL Draft.

After not selecting anyone in the third round of the NHL Draft, the Buffalo Sabres finished the fourth round with two picks. First, they drafted forward Matej Pekar with their original fourth round pick (94th overall). They were back on the clock with the 117th overall pick, selecting another Swedish defender in Linus Lindstrand Cronholm.

The Sabres were given the 117th overall pick when they traded Tyler Ennis, Marcus Foligno and a 2018 third round pick (which is why Buffalo didn’t draft anyone in the third round) to the Minnesota Wild. In exchange, the Sabres received their fourth round pick (117th overall), Marco Scandella and fan-favorite Jason Pominville.

With that fourth round pick, the Sabres added yet another player of Swedish descent — Linus Lindstrand Cronholm. At this year’s development camp, there were a total of 10 players from Sweden, most of them familiar with each other. After the draft came to an end, Buffalo Sabres’ general manager Jason Botterill commented on their love of Swedish players:

“You can look around the National Hockey League, so many Swedish defensemen have stepped in and played extremely well. Good mobility, good hockey sense, they know how to move the puck, and those are the attributes we’re looking for in our organization.”

Linus Lindstrand Cronholm is a young player, who just turned 18 on July 3rd — happy belated birthday, by the way. That made him one of the youngest players in this year’s draft. He’s got a lot of potential as a defender in the NHL and can prove to be a great pickup by the Buffalo Sabres if he can continue to develop his offensive game.

Lindstrand Cronholm is not afraid to get his body in front of players and the puck. When on the defensive end, he shows no fear in blocking shots and clearing the front, which will easily help him win the coaching staff over.

Elite Prospects describes him as a:

Stay-at-home defenseman with good hockey sense. Will not put up any significant numbers on the board, but plays a solid and simple game in his own end. Good size and will rarely get beaten with good reach and fine way of reading the game.

Lindstrand Cronholm’s offensive game is a work in progress, though. He has shown signs of excellent playmaking ability, but not consistently enough. He is known to have a cannon from the back end and can set up teammates nicely at times.

He last played with the Malmo Redhawks, a team in the Swedish SuperElit. As a member of their J18 team, he played in 18 games and totaled 16 points in those games (6 goals, 10 assists). He also boasted a +8 line and 45 penalty minutes.

As a member of the Redhawks’ J20 team, he didn’t produce as much offensively, finishing with 6 assists in 37 games. He also had a -10 line.

I think this was a good fourth-round pickup by the Buffalo Sabres in this year’s NHL Draft. Being just 18 years old will help give him time to fully develop as a hockey player and by then, he will be a nice asset to the Sabres’ defense.

With the talent Buffalo is accumulating through the NHL Draft the past 5 years or so, you have to expect to start seeing results in their season record. I think we will see those results sooner rather than later.

Next: What should the Sabres do with Sam Reinhart's contract?

How do you feel about the Sabres drafting Linus Lindstrand Cronholm?