Oscar Lindberg
Image: NHL

Oscar Lindberg

Hometown:

Skelleftea Sweden

Team:

New York Rangers

Currently Playing In:

Pro

Birthday:

1991-10-29
Position:

C

Eligible for draft:

2010
Shoots:

Left
Drafted:

2010
Height:

6-0
Acquired:

Trade with Arizona, 2011
Weight:

185 lbs.
<<<<<<< Updated upstream
History

2008-09: Oscar Lindberg spent most of the season with Skelleftea in the J20 SuperElit league.  In 38 games, Lindberg scored 14 goals and added 19 assists for 33 points.  In 5 playoff games, Lindberg picked up 1 assist.  He was a part of Sweden’s 2009 U-18 World Junior Championship team.  Lindberg picked up 2 assists in 6 tournament games.

2009-10: Lindberg split time between Skelleftea’s J20 and Elitserien squads.  In 30 junior games,  Lindberg scored 14 goals and added 23 assists for 37 points.  He also picked up 1 goal and 1 assist in 1 playoff game for this team.  At the Elite level, Lindberg played in 36 games, scoring 1 goal and adding 1 assist for 2 points.  In 10 playoff games, he netted 2 goals. Drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in the second round of the 2010 NHL Draft.

2010-11: Lindberg played 41 games for Skelleftea in Sweden’s Elitserien as a 19-year-old. Primarily regarded as a two-way, defensive forward he contributed to the third-place Skelleftea attack with 5 goals and 14 assists and was -1 with 31 PMs. Lindberg played in all 18 games during Skelleftea’s run to the playoff finals; scoring 3 goals with 4 assists and finishing +5 with 4 PMs. He played for Team Sweden at the 2011 World Junior U-20 Championship and scored 2 goals with 2 assists and was +3 with 6 PMs. The Rangers obtained the rights to Lindberg in a trade with Phoenix for prospect Ethan Werek (PHO) in May 2011.

2011-12: Linberg played a career-high 46 games in his third season with Skelleftea. Averaging almost 11 minutes of ice time in a lower line role, he scored 5 goals with 5 assists and was minus-8 with 18 penalty minutes. Skelleftea reached the Elitserien finals after finishing second in the regular season and Lindberg scored 1 goal with 3 assists and was minus-six in 18 playoff games. He signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Rangers in June, 2012.

2012-13: Lindberg had a breakout season in his fourth season with Skelleftea  – winning an SHL championship and playing for Sweden in the 2013 IIHF World Championship. He was Skelleftea’s third-leading scorer with 17 goals and 25 assists in 55 games and was +1 with 54 penalty minutes.  Skelleftea won the regular season and playoff titles. Lindberg led Skelleftea with 4 goals and 8 assists in 13 playoff games and was +13 with 16 penalty minutes. He had 1 goal with 1 assist and was +1 with 2 penalty minutes in ten games for Team Sweden. Co-hosting the tournament with Finland, Sweden defeated Switzerland, 5-1, in the gold medal game.

 2013-14: Lindberg skated for New York Rangers’ AHL affiliate Hartford in his first season in North America and was the second-leading scorer for the Wolfpack. He scored 18 goals with 26 assists and was +2 with 58 penalty minutes in 75 games. Hartford missed the AHL playoffs, finishing third in the Northeast Division.

2014-15: Lindberg made his NHL debut with the Rangers in a February 24th game against Calgary, finishing with an even plus/minus and no points nor penalties in 8:18 minutes of ice time in his only NHL game. He was the second-leading scorer for Rangers’ AHL affiliate Hartford behind minor league veteran Chris Bourque. Lindberg scored 28 goals with 28 assists and was +7 with 68 penalty minutes in 75 games in his second season with the Wolfpack. Hartford finished first in the Northeast Division and reached the Eastern Conference finals. Lindberg scored 3 goals with 13 assists and was +1 with 6 penalty minutes in 15 playoff games. Lindberg was re-signed by the Rangers as a restricted free agent in July 2015.

Talent Analysis

Lindberg has an excellent work ethic and plays well in all zones. A true center, with very good on-ice awareness, Lindberg has good playmaking abilities, and tends to step up play in big games.

Future

Lindberg has begun his third season in the Rangers organization. After he won an NHL roster spot out of training camp, Lindberg has made an excellent start to the season. A potential second- to third-line forward with scoring ability, he could wind up being a valuable sparkplug in New York this season.

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