Philadelphia Flyers: Three breakout candidates for the 2021 season
1. Oskar Lindblom
Was this list going to finish with anybody other than Oskar Lindblom? Of course it wasn’t. We all know the story by now, as Lindblom missed the majority of the 2019-2020 season as he was in a serious battle with Ewing’s sarcoma; a very rare type of cancerous tumor that grows in your bones or the soft tissue around your bones, such as cartilage or the nerves.
Being the fighter that he is, Oskar went on the kick cancer’s butt, and even returned for Games 6 and 7 of the Philadelphia Flyers second round series with the New York Islanders. I can not overstate enough how amazing that is. The fact that he was able to overcome so much and return to the ice less then a year from his initial diagnosis is incredible. Heck, the fact he was able to defeat cancer and get back on the ice at all is amazing.
Before the diagnosis, you could argue the Oskar Lindblom breakout season was already on its way, as through the 30 games he appeared in last season, Lindblom scored 11 goals and added 7 assists (18 points), and looked like a legitimate top six forward for the Orange and Black. To put it into perspective, he was on pace to score 30 goals and chip in 19 assists (49 points) over an 82 game season.
As he gets set to return for a full season, it looks as if Lindblom is set to skate on the second line for the Flyers along with Kevin Hayes and Travis Konecny, and there is a darn good chance he ends up leading the team in goals this season.
He proved last year on the ice just how gifted of an offensive player he is, and with an abundance of talent in the lineup around him, I’m guessing we see a lot of pucks hit the back of the net off the stick of number 23.
Lindblom’s return is going to be a fun story through this entire season not just with the Philadelphia Flyers, but throughout the entire National Hockey League.
Next. Philadelphia Flyers: Three bold predictions for the 2021 season. dark
With that said, his impact on the ice is going to be noticeable right away. Once he gets his legs again and gets accustomed to being back out there full time (which I would expect shouldn’t take to long), expect a big year from Oskar.