Defenseman Anton Lindholm practiced Tuesday and will make his NHL debut Wednesday when the Avalanche play Detroit at the Pepsi Center.

Lindholm, 22, was recalled Monday from San Antonio, where he had two goals, 10 assists and 39 penalty minutes in 59 games. He was the Avalanche's fifth-round pick (No. 144) in the 2014 NHL draft.

Lindholm is 5-feet-11, 185 pounds and plays a feisty game. He's from Skelleftea, Sweden, and played with Skelleftea AIK before heading to North America.

"Playing against grown men for the last three years in Sweden improved my game a lot, both physically and smartness wise," Lindholm said. "Guys are faster, stronger, so I would say it's been a huge part of my development.

"I want to prove to myself that I'm good enough to compete with the best players in the league, and coming in with good confidence next year, knowing that I'm capable of playing at this level of hockey."

Coach Jared Bednar said that Lindholm would be paired with Francois Beauchemin. The Avalanche have two extra defensemen now, so Cody Goloubef and Patrick Wiercioch will be scratched.

"I think Beauch is a good pair for him," Bednar said. "He's our most vocal defenseman, does the most talking on the ice. That's good for a young guy, to have another set of eyes and telling him what to do in all kinds of situations, especially in our half of the ice."

Lindholm, who is wearing jersey No. 54, said it didn't take him too long to adjust to the smaller North American rinks.

"I feel like I adapted my game more to the small rink," he said. "The defensive part of the game, coverage, standing closer to the creases. It's so short you have to be on the right side all the time. I felt like I did that pretty well.

"Being aggressive is a big part of my game, being physical, even though I'm not a big body out there. Along with a good first pass, a good position player."

Lindholm said he needs to "step everything up" to make a good impression.

"It's another level up here and you can't take one inch off out there or else you'll get beat," he said. "I have to be focused and on the top of my game all the time."

Bednar said he will use Lindholm in all situations, including penalty killing.

"I know that he's had a great year in San Antonio so far," he said. "He's played every game, he's played on their top pair, a physical defender, tenacious competitor. He's improved his puck play through the course of the season. I love his character and his compete.

"He's a guy that's played against men for a couple of years now and I expect he'll play the same way, that he'll be physical. The game will slow down for him over time up here, but what I think is going to happen is we just want to encourage him to play the same way, play with the same fire. He'll be put in a bunch of defensive situations. He's a good defender, skates well and competes hard in front of the net and in the corners."

*****

Bednar is changing lines again. Nathan MacKinnon will center Sven Andrighetto and Mikko Rantanen, while Matt Duchene will center Gabriel Landeskog and Rene Bourque.

Bednar said he hadn't yet decided how the third and fourth lines will look.

The Avalanche won't have a morning skate.



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