Wheeling Nailers: A Talk With Rookie Defenseman Mats Lindgren
After a win on a Sunday evening in March, Wheeling Nailers Defenseman Mats Lindgren sat down with Olde City Sports Network to speak on his junior career, his father, and more!
Lindgren spent five seasons in the WHL playing for the Kamloops Blazers and the Red Deer Rebels. During his time with the Blazers, he dressed in 94 games and amassed six goals with 48 assists. In August of 2022, Lindgren was traded to the Red Deer Rebels for defenseman Kyle Masters and a conditional first round selection in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft. Lindgren played in 126 games for the Rebels and totaled 18 goals with 57 assists.
“I think at the start of my junior career, I was a very offensive defenseman. I think throughout the years as I got older, I tried to implement getting better at defense and being able to play with bigger, stronger guys and adding to my game. You look at the NHL, most guys could play offense and defense, so it's being more of a two dimensional guy.” In Lindgren’s final season in the WHL, he donned the “A” on his uniform for the Rebels “It's awesome to be a captain and a leader. I was older, so I had some experience to give to the younger guys. I had great leaders when I was young, so that kind of transitioned for me, you know, I was taught a good way from the older guys when I was young, so I could bring that to the younger guys as well.” In three seasons, Lindgren went to postseason play with the Blazers and played in 17 games, with seven goals. He played in a total of 21 postseason games for the Rebels and totaled three goals with 11 assists.
Lindgren was drafted in round four of the NHL Entry Draft in 2022. He was selected 106th overall by the Buffalo Sabres. He was left unsigned and became a free agent in May of 2024. He went back to his draft day experience to reflect on it. “It was pretty surreal and it was awesome. Great day for my family. Something I worked for since I was a little kid, something that I dreamed about, so it was a special day for both me and my family and just kind of felt great to kind of see all the hard work pay off.”
In July 2024, Lindgren was signed to a one-year AHL contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins after becoming a free agent. He spoke on what signing his first professional contract was like: “It’s so cool. That was a big step in my career, kind of something to check off the list. Just being in Wilkes was awesome. Great organization. great leaders there. I'm really happy. I'm in a good spot. I think my game is growing here [Wheeling] and it has been really good for me.”
If Mats Lindgren sounds familiar, you are right, it does. This is the son of the eight year veteran AHL and NHL player, Mats Lindgren. Lindgren played for Cape Breton Oilers, Edmonton Oilers, Hamilton Bulldogs, New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, and Manitoba Moose. Lindgren and his father have a very close relationship and credits a lot of his development to him. “He is a really big reason why I'm where I am. From my skills, to how I carry myself on and off the ice. We worked so many hours together, I think from when I was 13 till 15 years old, I think we spent probably almost every day on the ice except for Sunday. Those three years were also a massive part of my development. I can't thank him enough, and also my mom and my sister as well, they've also played a massive part. I can't leave them out of it as well.”
Every player has a strength that is accredited to their play and success on the ice. Lindgren touches on what his strength is and how he utilizes it. “I think my biggest strength is my skating, so I am utilizing that alot. Whether I’m defending, whether I'm playing offense, and whether I'm in the rush. I think that's probably my biggest thing I try to use all over the ice. Then my hockey IQ, reading plays, making plays, and then seeing plays unfold and attacking space.”
Preparing mentally for games is part of a player's pre-game routine. Some are strict in their routines and some are easy going. Lindgren talks on his mindset pre-game and how he prepares for the game ahead. “I think my faith for me personally. I have a lot of trust to God and just kind of obviously I really like to focus before my games, but I leave a lot of it up to God and I just let him kind of take care of it, so I can just go in with a clean slate and clear mind into the game and positive mind. Ultimately I know everything is gonna be okay. I'm blessed to have a great family and everything outside of hockey, but it kind of lets me think about the game and to not have any worries.”
After playing for a long time, a player has so many collective memories that become their favorite. Lindgren speaks of his favorite memory. “Probably going to the youth Olympics when I was 16 years old. I got to go to Switzerland. 15 Canada. That was pretty cool. We won bronze, so we didn't win gold. It was just an amazing experience, playing with all the best players in Canada and representing your country. It's cliché, but it's pretty awesome to do that.” In 2019-2020, Lindgren represented his country in the youth olympics. He dressed in four games and tallied two assists.
In every position on the ice, a player has that dream line or those dream players that they would like to play with. Lindgren touches on who he would like to be his defense partner. “There's some good players out there. I mean, I love Quinn Hughes. I love the way he plays. I'm from Vancouver. I would love to play with him, you know, I'd like to I guess help his game. He's so good offensively. I'd love to be partnered up with him, that'd be a pretty cool thing. Erik Karlsson, Marcus Petterson. I'd probably want to be paired up with any NHL guy.”
During the course of this season, Lindgren has played in seven games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with no points accumulated. In Wheeling, he has dressed in 56 games for seven goals and 14 assists.
- Samantha Wismer/Olde City Sports Network
-Photos By- Samantha Wismer/ Olde City Sports Network