It’s easy for NHL prospects playing in European leagues to slide a bit under the radar, particularly when they come without a high-round draft pedigree. Sure, everyone follows the status of a German Rubtsov very closely, but a mid-round pick putting up statistics that don’t jump off the page but are perfectly fine after accounting for age and league difficulty can slip through the cracks.
That’s what happened to Oskar Lindblom, before the 2016-17 season, at least. In his Draft+1 season, he played 37 games in the SHL, Sweden’s top professional hockey league, and scored 15 points.