Elias Lindholm’s Performance For Sweden Bodes Well For Bruins

It was a rough first season for Elias Lindholm with the Boston Bruins.

After signing a seven-year, $54.25 million contract, the 30-year-old center’s 2024-25 campaign did not unfold as planned — mainly due to a back injury he suffered in early August.

Lindholm found his groove after the trade deadline when interim head coach Joe Sacco reunited the two-way center with David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie. He tallied six goals and nine assists in the final 16 games of the season, and finished third on the team in scoring with 17 goals and 30 assists for 47 points.

His play down the stretch has carried over into his 2025 IIHF World Championship performance.

Lindholm led his native Sweden to a 4-0 shutout win over Slovenia with a natural hat trick. He is the tournament’s leading scorer with five goals and four assists for nine points across five games.

His vision and timing are dialed in, and he’s reminding everyone exactly why Boston went out and got him in the first place. If Lindholm continues to play at the elite level he’s shown over the last couple of months, the Bruins can expect it to carry over into next season.

Lindholm isn’t the only Bruins skater turning heads in the World Championship.

Pastrnak is tied with his teammate for points; however, the Bruins’ star has four goals and five assists in four games for Czechia. It’s not unexpected that Pastrnak would continue to show his elite scoring skills, but he looks like he’s having fun.

He’s creating space, finishing chances, and making the kind of highlight-reel plays that made him a household name in Boston.

While Boston’s leading scorer is doing his thing, Bruins prospect Dans Locmelis is showing the organization they were right to draft him in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

The 20-year-old Latvian forward has three goals and one assist in four games for Latvia, and he’s looked dangerous every time he’s touched the puck.

If Lindholm and Locmelis show up at training camp performing the way they have in the tournament, the Bruins could have some tough decisions regarding the opening night roster.