Top Blue Jackets prospect Cayden Lindstrom to make season debut during Game 1 of WHL final

Medicine Hat Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins confirmed that Columbus Blue Jackets’ top prospect Cayden Lindstrom will make his season debut during Game 1 of the WHL Final versus the Spokane Chiefs.

Desjardins also confirms that Calgary Flames prospect Andrew Basha will return to the lineup as well.

Game 1 of the WHL Championship series gets underway on Friday.

In 99 regular-season WHL games with the Tigers, the Dawson Creek, BC native scored 46 goals and 88 points, highlighted by his 46 points in 36 games in 2023-24. Lindstrom was selected No. 4 overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Lindstrom had been sidelined all season due to a back injury, something that the Blue Jackets were aware of prior to drafting him. Blue Jackets’ General Manager Don Waddell told the media the club had “all the MRIs, all the tests and everything else from his agents and doctors. “This is something he’s going to get better from, but we want to be really careful with it. I’ve said all along, we’re going to slow-play this one,” Waddell said. “This is an important player for us, obviously, and the focus is on the future. I’ve told everybody involved that I’m not worried about today. I’m looking at the future.”

Medicine Hat is highlighted by 2026 top prospect Gavin McKenna who notched 41 goals and 88 assists this past season for 129 points. McKenna has racked up eight goals and 27 assists for 35 points in 17 games in the WHL Playoffs so far. McKenna was named WHL player of the year for the 2024-25 season. Acording to the CHL, he set a modern record for points racked up in consecutive games by accumulating 32 goals and 68 assists over 40 games and has extended the streak to 53 games.