Anton Lindholm (born 29 November 1994) is a Swedish ice hockey defenceman. He is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for Leksands IF in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Lindholm was selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the 5th round, 144th overall, at the 2014 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft.[1]

Anton Lindholm
Born (1994-11-29) 29 November 1994 (age 29)
Skellefteå, Sweden
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
SHL team
Former teams
Free Agent
Skellefteå AIK
Colorado Avalanche
Dinamo Minsk
Leksands IF
National team  Sweden
NHL Draft 144th overall, 2014
Colorado Avalanche
Playing career 2012–present

Playing career edit

Lindholm played in the youth ranks of Varuträsk IF and SK Lejon before joining Skellefteå AIK at the age of 15. He made his Elitserien debut playing with Skellefteå AIK during the 2011–12 season.[2] In the 2013–14 season, he played 39 games in the junior SuperElit level before he was promoted to the Senior side in the second half of the year. He made seven appearances in the regular season that year. Lindholm developed a physical presence and impressively established a top four defensive role in the playoffs, scoring three points in 14 games in helping Skellefteå claim the SHL Championship. Prior to being drafted by the Colorado Avalanche, on 14 April 2014, he was re-signed to a two-year extension to continue with Skellefteå.[3] In 2014–15 and 2015–16, he helped the team to back-to-back appearances in the SHL finals and also competed in the Champions Hockey League, where Skellefteå managed a third-place finish in the 2014–15 season.[4]

After 5 seasons in the SHL with Skellefteå, Lindholm earned the opportunity to follow his NHL ambitions in agreeing to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Colorado Avalanche on 24 May 2016.[5] After attending the Avalanche's training camp and pre-season, Lindholm was assigned to American Hockey League affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, to adjust to the North American style to begin the 2016–17 season on 7 October 2016.[6] He made his debut with the Rampage on opening night in a 2–1 defeat to the Milwaukee Admirals on 15 October 2016.[7] As a fixture on the Rampage blueline in adding a sound defensive game, Lindholm developed his offensive capability and scored his first goal in North America in a 4–3 overtime loss to the Texas Stars on 16 January 2017.[8][9] After recording an increase in production and ice-time with the Rampage, Lindholm received his first recall to the Avalanche on 13 March 2017.[10] He made his NHL debut with the Avalanche at the Pepsi Center, playing alongside veterans Francois Beauchemin and later Fedor Tyutin in a 3–1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on 15 March 2017.[11]

As a restricted free agent, Lindholm was signed to a two-year, two-way contract extension with the Avalanche on 23 July 2019.[12] In the 2019–20 season, Lindholm split the season between the Avalanche and the Colorado Eagles. He appeared in four regular season games with the Avalanche, tallying an assist, and was on the club's playoff roster following the pause from the COVID-19 pandemic.

After his fourth season within the Avalanche organization and with one-year remaining on his contract, Lindholm was traded alongside Nikita Zadorov to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Brandon Saad and Dennis Gilbert.[13] In the following 2020–21 shortened season, Lindholm was assigned to the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL after attending the Blackhawks training camp. Remaining with the IceHogs for the entirety of the campaign, Lindholm was limited to just 16 games in adding 1 goal and 3 points.

As a free agent from the Blackhawks, Lindholm left North America and on 20 August 2021, was signed to a one-year contract with Belarusian club, HC Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).[14] As a regular on the blueline with Dinamo in the 2021–22 season, Lindholm collected 8 assists through 32 regular season games and made 4 post-season appearances.

On 18 May 2022, Lindholm as a free agent opted to return to his native Sweden in agreeing to a two-year contract with Leksands IF of the SHL.[15]

Career statistics edit

Regular season and playoffs edit

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2010–11 Skellefteå AIK J20 3 0 0 0 4
2011–12 Skellefteå AIK J20 43 1 3 4 20 3 0 1 1 0
2011–12 Skellefteå AIK SEL 1 0 0 0 0
2012–13 Skellefteå AIK J20 37 1 9 10 24 5 1 0 1 2
2012–13 Skellefteå AIK SEL 2 0 0 0 2
2013–14 Skellefteå AIK J20 39 1 5 6 34
2013–14 Piteå HC Div.1 1 0 1 1 0
2013–14 Skellefteå AIK SHL 7 0 0 0 4 14 1 2 3 4
2014–15 Skellefteå AIK SHL 35 0 7 7 35 15 1 4 5 8
2014–15 Malmö Redhawks Allsv 5 1 2 3 2
2015–16 Skellefteå AIK SHL 30 0 4 4 18 16 0 1 1 6
2016–17 San Antonio Rampage AHL 62 2 11 13 39
2016–17 Colorado Avalanche NHL 12 0 0 0 2
2017–18 Colorado Avalanche NHL 48 0 4 4 14
2018–19 Colorado Eagles AHL 57 1 7 8 16 4 1 0 1 0
2018–19 Colorado Avalanche NHL 2 0 0 0 0
2019–20 Colorado Eagles AHL 45 1 2 3 14
2019–20 Colorado Avalanche NHL 4 0 1 1 0
2020–21 Rockford IceHogs AHL 16 1 2 3 2
2021–22 Dinamo Minsk KHL 32 0 8 8 14 4 0 0 0 4
2022–23 Leksands IF SHL 50 7 14 21 35 3 0 2 2 0
2023–24 Leksands IF SHL 39 3 5 8 33 7 1 2 3 0
SHL totals 164 10 30 40 127 55 3 11 14 18
NHL totals 66 0 5 5 16
KHL totals 32 0 8 8 14 4 0 0 0 4

International edit

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2016 Sweden WC 6th 3 0 0 0 0
2022 Sweden WC 6th 8 0 0 0 0
2023 Sweden WC 6th 8 0 2 2 0
Senior totals 19 0 2 2 0

References edit

  1. ^ "Colorado Avalanche add size, right side players in draft". Denver Post. 29 June 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  2. ^ "2011–12 Skellefteå AIK player statistics". Eliteprospects.com. 3 February 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  3. ^ "Anton Lindholm stops" (in Swedish). Skellefteå AIK. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  4. ^ "Statistics | Champions Hockey League". www.championshockeyleague.net. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  5. ^ "Avalanche signs Anton Lindholm". Colorado Avalanche. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Avalanche reduced training camp roster to 27". Colorado Avalanche. 7 October 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  7. ^ "Admirals edge Rampage in season opener". American Hockey League. 15 October 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  8. ^ "Avalanche call up defenseman Anton Lindholm". bsndenver.com. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  9. ^ "Stars 4, Rampage 3 game summary". American Hockey League. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  10. ^ "Avalanche recall Anton Lindholm". Colorado Avalanche. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  11. ^ Frei, Terry (15 March 2017). "Anton Lindholm gets the latest audition for Colorado". Denver Post. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  12. ^ "Avalanche signs Anton Lindholm". Colorado Avalanche. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  13. ^ "Blackhawks acquire Zadorov, Lindholm from Avalanche". Chicago Blackhawks. 10 October 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Anton Lindholm joins Dinamo Minsk" (in Russian). HC Dinamo Minsk. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  15. ^ "WC defenseman Anton Lindholm signs with LIF" (in Swedish). Leksands IF. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.

External links edit