All it takes is one step to change someone’s whole journey. For Vegas Golden Knights goaltender prospect, Carl Lindbom, all he needed was one opportunity to show the hockey world everything he was made of.
That opportunity knocked on Lindbom’s door when he was drafted in the seventh round, 222nd overall, by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. After being drafted, Lindbom played professionally overseas in Sweden’s second division league, HockeyAllsvenskan. Lindbom played for Djurgårdens IF in his rookie season in the league, where he played in 36 games with a 25-11-0 record, including seven shutouts, a 1.86 GAA, and a .930 save percentage. His stellar year earned him Goalie of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards for the league. Within the same year, he took his efforts to the 2023 IIHF U20 World Junior Championship as the only goalie to hit the ice for Team Sweden during the tournament. His 4-3-0 record included two shutouts, which were the most among netminders at the tournament.
The summer of 2023 was the start of Lindbom’s dreams coming true when he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Golden Knights. Shortly after, Lindbom traveled back to Sweden to play in the Swedish Hockey League to continue developing his game professionally. He appeared in 26 games for Farjestad BK and posted a 17-7-0 record, 2.12 GAA, and .911 save percentage. Lindbom said he used the Swedish professional leagues to improve his hockey sense, power, and speed. He even scored a goal by firing a puck down the ice into an empty net.
Lindbom’s full-time arrival to North America came at the start of the 2024-25 season where he’s been playing with the Henderson Silver Knights. Despite some bumps in the road for the team, Lindbom has continued developing and owns a 7-9-1 record, a 2.82 GAA and a .915 save percentage. He’s recorded shutouts against top teams like the Calgary Wranglers and Ontario Reign.
“[The shutouts] were a lot of fun. The Calgary game was tough. I faced a lot of shots. I thought the team played great and to get out with a shutout [in Calgary] was really fun,” Lindbom said, about his first AHL shutout. “Sometimes it just clicks. I feel like I can keep my calm up there, breathing, and seeing the puck well.”
For the last two years, Lindbom has been able to learn from Golden Knights goaltending coach, Sean Burke, at the team’s development camps, as well Silver Knights goaltending coach, Fred Brathwaite, throughout this season.
“I think [Burke] is very technical. His idea of fundamentals of being a goaltender is spot on. You can tell he knows his stuff,” Lindbom said, during the 2024 VGK Development Camp. “If I’m struggling, he can see it right away. He will tell me to ‘try this’ or ‘do this’ and right away I feel like, okay, that was a good tip.”
In Henderson, Lindbom works more closely with HSK Head Coach, Ryan Craig, and Brathwaite, who Lindbom said has been a huge help in getting him suited and adjusted to North American hockey. To both coaches, Lindbom is a player who works hard and gives his all every single game.
“We’ve seen his play increase as we’ve gone through the season. The biggest thing for us is how hard he battles on pucks,” Craig said. “He’s a guy that’s square to the puck. He’s a guy that competes on pucks. He’s a guy that the puck sits in front of him, and he hasn’t squeezed it, and he can jump on it which is something we’ve really valued with our team and how we want to defend.”
Brathwaite said he sees Lindbom inching closer to becoming the goalie he knows he can be every day.
“Carl is obviously a hard worker and knows the game. He reads the game so well,” Brathwaite stated. “A guy with that much talent has always proved himself at every level and he’s doing it right now with us as well.”
Similarly, Lindbom tandems with fellow goaltender, Akira Schmid, and feels like he is learning just as much from him.
“I have learned a lot from [Schmid]. We talk all the time. Obviously, he has more experience and has played a lot of NHL games and AHL games. We talk a lot about how to play different situations and stuff like that,” Lindbom said.
Lindbom has learned from others who have had to adjust to North American hockey. He has connected with Schmid on getting better in the crease, but for life in general, Lindbom has turned to teammate, Robert Hagg.
“Hagg and I hang out a lot, and I like to pick his brain because he’s been over here for 10 years,” Lindbom said. “He’s done the same kind of trip as I’ve done, so I like to pick his brain a little bit to see what he thinks of everything and how he’s done it.”
Between Swedish hockey and North American hockey, there are a lot of adjustments players must adapt to, the main two being the size of the ice and the pace of play. In Sweden, rinks are wider which allows the game to be slower compared to NHL games. Lindbom embraced the challenge of adjustment to adapt his game to become a top goaltender in the AHL.
“For me, it’s finding comfortability in my game and being safe in that,” Lindbom said. “I want experience to grow my game. Here, a game can turn around so quickly. So, it’s just about building my experience and playing games.”
Goalies are often the most impactful players on the outcome of a game. For Henderson Silver Knights General Manager Tim Speltz, it’s about more than the saves Lindbom makes – it’s about the way he reads situations and makes decisions in the crease that benefit the entire team.
“Carl has surprised me, in that, I thought it would take a little longer for the adjustment for him coming to North America. The smaller rink, the more traffic, but he does a good job tracking pucks, finding pucks, getting stoppages when tracking pucks, finding pucks, getting stoppages when you need them, and that’s some of the things that I thought he might need time to adjust to the North American game,” Speltz said. “He’s handled it very well. He’s very competitive, and for me, I think he’s a guy that works hard on his craft and works hard on his team.”
The way Lindbom carries himself is no surprise to Golden Knights management. As Lindbom was getting scouted in Sweden while playing in juniors, Golden Knights Manager of Goaltending Development, Mike Rosati, and Director of Player Development, Wil Nichol, took note of his calm but confident demeanor. Rosati and Nichol work together to find the future of the Golden Knights, such as Lindbom.
“[Lindbom’s] hockey sense is off the chart. I think a lot of times, people don’t talk about hockey sense with goalies,” Nichol said. “He’s got a calm demeanor to him. He’s got confidence and swagger. He’s been a lot of fun to work with, just from my perspective. He’s very low maintenance, very hardworking. When he’s on his game, he’s going to give you a chance to win every night.”
Lindbom is passionate about growing his game. He has always been a fan of watching goalies to learn how different players approach their game. Growing up, Lindbom was a fan of fellow Swedish goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist. Now, Lindbom tries to play like Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators.
As the Silver Knights head to their all-star break, Lindbom said he is excited to watch his country, Sweden, compete in the 4Nations Face-Off tournament. He looks forward to learning from fellow goalies in a best-of-the-best tournament in hopes that one day, he can be the goalie that young players look up to as well.
