Lindgren a key addition to Rebels defence corps
By DANNY RODE – The Red Deer Rebels got exactly who they were looking for in Tuesday’s CHL Import Draft.
The Rebels went into the three-round draft looking for an older, experienced defenceman who could help led a younger defence.
They got just that selecting 19-year-old Zeb Lindgren from Sweden 24th overall in the first round.
They passed on the second and third rounds as Lindgren joins Slovakian Matus Lisy and Czech Jiri Kamas as the team’s three imports, all of whom play on the back end.
“That was the age group we were looking at if it could possibly happen,” said Rebels Owner/President/GM Brent Sutter.
“We’re still a pretty young team on defence. We had only one 19-year-old (Lisy) on the back end and we were trying to find an established guy who can bring leadership , play on our top pairing, skate really well and move the puck, and he fit all those traits.
“He’s a real heady player, a smart player who was an NHL draft pick of the (New York) Rangers last year, so he fit what we were looking for.”
Sutter added that Lindgren “speaks good English and has leadership abilities as he was captain of his team in Sweden. That character is nice.”
Lindgren comes from Umea and played for Skelleftea AIK in Sweden’s top U20 league. He had 19 points in 36 games, including six goals. He also played two games in Sweden’s top professional league.
He was selected by the Rangers in the fifth round of the 2025 NHL Draft.
Lindgren also represented his country at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the 2025 World Junior A Challenge, winning medals in both.
The fact the Rebels have three imports on the back end doesn’t bother Sutter.
“I’m not worried about that. We need the experience as going through our list we’re young and the younger players need time to develop. We have some really good younger players. The 2010 and 2011 groups were really good on the back end. Both drafts were exceptional. We drafted some good D men, we just need to be patient.”
Two of the younger players – 17-year-old Graeme Pickering and 16-year-old Nolan Wolitski – have an excellent chance of making this year’s roster.
“Pickering, and some of the other 17-year-olds can hopefully push to make the team and we have some good 16-year-olds including Wolitski, who was our top pick last year.”
That’s why we needed a guy like Lindgren who is established and at six-foot-one, 200-pounds and can play big.”
Sutter indicated he had talks with the Rangers brass and they were excited to see him come to Red Deer and said he would be a good fit.
Lindgren is currently at Ranger development camp in New York. So too is Rebels forward Kalder Varga, who received an invite after going unselected at last weekend’s NHL Draft.
The lone Rebels player drafted last weekend was team captain Beckett Hamilton who went in the third round, 74th overall, to the Colorado Avalanche.
“All the teams in the NHL are good teams, but Colorado is an elite team and the way Beckett plays fits their game,” Sutter said. “We figured he’d go late in the second or early in the third and that’s where he went.
“He actually moved up the draft charts as he had a really good U18 tournament in Europe, which obviously helps. I know Colorado was high on him which showed in taking him where they did. That was awesome.”
