Kole Lind
Lind with the Seattle Kraken in 2022
Born (1998-10-16) October 16, 1998
Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 178 lb (81 kg; 12 st 10 lb)
Position Right wing
Shoots Right
NHL team (P)
Cur. team
Former teams		 Seattle Kraken
Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL)
Vancouver Canucks
NHL Draft 33rd overall, 2017
Vancouver Canucks
Playing career 2018–present

Kole Lind (born October 16, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Early life

Lind was born on October 16, 1998, in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada[1] to parents Ashley and Marcia.[2] Lind's father Ashley grew up playing minor hockey alongside Hayley Wickenheiser before running a farm in Admiral, Saskatchewan.[3] Beyond his father, his sisters Taylor and Tenelle played collegiate ice hockey[2] while his younger brother Kalan was drafted by the Nashville Predators in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.[4]

Playing career

Growing up in Saskatchewan, Lind played minor ice hockey for the Swift Current Legionnaires of the Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL)[1] and for the Swift Current Kabos Bantam AA Raiders. He tallied 46 points during the 2012–13 regular season with the Raiders and was subsequently drafted by the Kelowna Rockets in the 2013 Western Hockey League bantam draft.[5] Following the draft, he joined the Saskatoon Contacts for the 2013–14 SMAAAHL season[6] and represented Saskatchewan at the 2013 Western Canada Under 16 Challenge Cup.[7] Upon returning from the tournament, Lind finished the season with the Contacts and tallied 21 goals and 16 assists for 37 points through 44 games.[1]

Lind returned to the Contacts for the 2014–15 season where he broke out offensively and accumulated 45 goals and 34 assists for 79 points through 44 games.[1] As such, Lind was named their 2014 Player of the Month in November and was named to the league's 2014–15 First Team All-Star.[8] Once the SMAAAHL season was finished, Lind played six regular-season games with the Rockets and seven playoff games.[1] He tallied his first WHL playoff point with an assist Tomas Soustal’s third period goal to help them beat the Victoria Royals in Game 1.[9]

Major junior

Following his short stint with the Rockets during the 2014–15 season, Lind began his first full-length WHL campaign during the 2015–16 season. During the pre-season, Lind and Dillon Dube led their team in pre-season scoring with six points each.[10] He began his rookie campaign playing alongside Dube and Tyson Baillie and quickly recorded his first career WHL hat-trick by December 2015.[11] Lind finished his rookie season with 41 points through 70 games while going goalless in his last 30 games.[12] Upon finishing his rookie season, Lind spent the 2016 offseason in Florida working with a skills coach on training and power skating.[13]

Upon returning to the Rockets for his sophomore season, Lind entered his first year of draft eligibility strong and quickly set new career highs. He played alongside Dube and Tomas Soustal became the team leader in both points and goals while also tying Cal Foote for most assists.[13] Lind finished the 2016–17 season with 30 goals and 87 points through 70 regular-season games while also recording six goals and six assists in 17 playoff contests.[14] His point totals placed him fourth amongst first-time draft-eligible WHL forwards while his points per game ranked him fifth amongst that same peer group.[15] As a result, Lind was ranked 23rd among North American skaters eligible for the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by Central Scouting and earned praise from International Scouting Services for his "high end" vision and skill-set.[14] Lind was eventually drafted 33rd overall by the Vancouver Canucks on the second day of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.[16] Following the draft, Lind was invited to attend the Canucks' Summer Development Camp.[17]

After attending the Canucks' Development Camp, Lind returned to the Rockets for his third and final major junior season. He began the 2017–18 season with 11 goals and 21 assists through 20 games before missing over six games while recovering from mononucleosis. Despite missing numerous games, Lind remained the team's scoring leader.[18] As such, he was invited to participate in Team Canada's 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships tryouts but was cut before the final roster was announced.[19] After being cut from Team Canada's roster, Lind returned to the Rockets and tallied eight points in three games.[20] One of these games included his second career hat-trick to lift the Rockets over the Kamloops Blazers.[21]

Lind during Seattle Kraken practice in 2022.

Professional career

Vancouver Canucks

On March 1, 2018, Lind signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Canucks[22] and agreed to an amateur tryout agreement with their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Utica Comets, at the end of the 2017–18 season.[23] Upon joining the Comets, Lind appeared in six games where he registered one assist.[24] Following this, Lind attended the Canucks 2018–19 season development camp but was returned to the Comets for his first full professional campaign.[25] He played six games with the Comets before suffering an injury during a game against the Syracuse Crunch.[26] Lind returned to the lineup on November 28[27] and tallied his first professional goal on January 16 against the Crunch.[28]

In the pandemic delayed 2020–21 season, Lind was assigned to the Utica Comets and posted 8 points in his first eight games, before suffering a broken nose when struck in the face during a game against the Rochester Americans on March 3, 2021. After being cleared medically, he was assigned to the Canucks’ taxi squad on April 1, 2021.[29] He made his NHL debut with the Canucks in a 4–1 defeat to the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 29, 2021.[30]

Seattle Kraken

On July 21, 2021, Lind was selected from the Canucks at the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft by the Seattle Kraken.[31] Lind was originally assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, before being recalled on October 13 due to injuries in the lineup.[32] During his call-up, Lind tallied his first NHL assist and recorded two hits in a 4–3 win over the Edmonton Oilers on December 4.[33] He remained with the Kraken and later scored his first career NHL goal on April 1, 2022, in a 5–2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.[34]

As a restricted free agent in the off-season, Lind was tendered a qualifying offer and signed to a one-year, two-way contract extension with the Kraken on July 21, 2022.[35]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2012–13 Swift Current Legionnaires SMAAAHL 4 3 0 3 4 — — — — —
2013–14 Saskatoon Contacts SMAAAHL 44 21 16 37 38 3 0 2 2 2
2014–15 Saskatoon Contacts SMAAAHL 44 45 34 79 54 5 4 2 6 14
2014–15 Kelowna Rockets WHL 6 0 1 1 4 7 0 3 3 4
2015–16 Kelowna Rockets WHL 70 14 27 41 54 16 0 0 0 12
2016–17 Kelowna Rockets WHL 70 30 57 87 79 17 6 6 12 10
2017–18 Kelowna Rockets WHL 58 39 56 95 65 4 3 5 8 4
2017–18 Utica Comets AHL 6 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
2018–19 Utica Comets AHL 51 5 12 17 20 — — — — —
2019–20 Utica Comets AHL 61 14 30 44 64 — — — — —
2020–21 Utica Comets AHL 8 5 3 8 8 — — — — —
2020–21 Vancouver Canucks NHL 7 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2021–22 Seattle Kraken NHL 23 2 6 8 12 — — — — —
2021–22 Charlotte Checkers AHL 46 17 18 35 106 — — — — —
2022–23 Coachella Valley Firebirds AHL 72 30 32 62 91 26 9 22 31 16
NHL totals 30 2 6 8 12 — — — — —

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Kole Lind". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Hanna, Claire (April 27, 2020). "Sask. player drafted to WHL comes from long line of hockey talent". CTV News. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  3. ↑ Ewan, Steve (October 23, 2017). "Canucks: Hayley Wickenheiser talks up skills of prospect Kole Lind". The Province. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Kalan Lind". Elite Prospects. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Lind Happy to Join Rockets". Swift Current Online. May 3, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Affiliated Player Commitments". Saskatchewan Male U18 Hockey League. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Four Rockets prospects to play for U16 Title". Kelowna Rockets. October 16, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  8. ↑ "League Awards". Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  9. ↑ "GAME DAY: Rockets-Royals Game Two Tonight". Kelowna Rockets. April 11, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Rockets and Blazers Back at it in Kamloops". Kelowna Rockets. September 26, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Lind Lights the Lamp Three Times in Herry 3-2 Win Over Blazers". Kelowna Now. December 28, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  12. ↑ Henderson, Warren (November 1, 2016). "Lind sets offensive pace for Kelowna Rockets". Kelowna Capital News. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  13. 1 2 Hill, Sam. "Lind elevates play in sophomore season with Rockets". Kelowna Now. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  14. 1 2 Wescott, Chris (May 31, 2017). "DRAFT PROFILE: Kole Lind". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  15. ↑ Beich, Ryan (June 28, 2017). "Deep dive: Pettersson, Lind & Gadjovich". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  16. ↑ Beich, Ryan (June 25, 2017). "Canucks 2nd day draft recap". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Canucks Announce Development Camp Roster". National Hockey League. June 27, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  18. ↑ Erickson, Glen (November 30, 2017). "Kole Lind Diagnosed With mononucleosis". DUBNetwork. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  19. ↑ Chidley-Hill, John (December 14, 2017). "Hockey Canada cuts six players from world junior selection camp roster". National Post.
  20. ↑ Wagner, Daniel (December 28, 2017). "Kole Lind erupts after World Junior snub". Vancouver is Awesome. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  21. ↑ Bregolisse, Doris Maria (December 30, 2017). "Kole Lind's hat trick earns Kelowna Rockets win over Kamloops Blazers". Global News. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Canucks sign Lind to three-year entry level contract". National Hockey League. March 1, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Comets Sign Forward Kole Lind To An Amateur Tryout Contract". Utica Comets. April 2, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  24. ↑ Giuriato, Tyson (April 16, 2018). "Canucks Prospects Update: 4.16.18". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Canucks reduce pre-season roster". National Hockey League. September 21, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  26. ↑ Beich, Ryan (November 9, 2018). "Canucks Prospects Update: Utica Comets". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  27. ↑ Beich, Ryan (December 20, 2018). "Canucks Prospects Update: Utica Comets". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  28. ↑ "YOUNG GUNS LEAD COMETS TO VICTORY OVER CRUNCH". Utica Comets. January 16, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Canucks tap Kole Lind for shot of energy". The Province. April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Matthews' scores 36th, Maple Leafs top Canucks 4-1". ESPN. April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  31. ↑ Condor, Bob (July 21, 2021). "Seattle Kraken Make Their Picks". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  32. ↑ Condor, Bob (October 13, 2021). "Roster Update: Johansson on IR, Lind Added". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  33. ↑ "Kraken's Kole Lind: Earns first NHL point". CBS Sports. December 4, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  34. ↑ Condor, Bob (April 2, 2022). "Final Buzzer: Kraken Fall, 5-2". National Hockey League. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  35. ↑ "Lind, Twarynski back in fold". Seattle Kraken. July 21, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
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