From Minnesota Roots To Big Personalities, Lindgren & Oshie Share Tight Bond WIth Capitals

ARLINGTON, V.A. — Over the last few months, Washington Capitals T.J. Oshie and Charlie Lindgren have formed a tight bond, and their Minnesota roots, as long as similar personalities, quickly brought them together.

Lindgren's hometown of Lakeville, Minnesota, where almost all of his family members are goaltenders (with the exception of his brother), is roughly six and a half hours south of Warroad, Oshie's famous town that is also the name of T.J.'s sports clothing brand, which has become wildly popular throughout the league. It was also a place that Lindgren knew well growing up — and also watched and heard of Oshie, the small-town hockey legend who set insane high school records with the Warriors.

"[Warroad's] known for hockey. Everyone loves hockey up there. Hockey's the culture essentially. I remember T.J. playing the state tournament long ago," he said, adding, "His statistics in high school, he had put up a lot of points. He's awesome."

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Though both played college hockey, with Oshie attending North Dakota and Lindgren pursuing a degree at St. Cloud State, they took different paths to the Show. Oshie began his NHL career as the St. Louis Blues' 24th overall pick in 2005. After a long tenure there, he found himself traded to the Capitals, where he quickly became a fan favorite and staple of the franchise.

Lindgren, who is seven years younger, also ended up with the Blues for a bit, but took the undrafted route and earned a contract with the Montreal Canadiens first. Then, after his impressive stint in the St. Louis organization, he signed a three-year deal to join Washington.

That's when Lindgren got to know Oshie, and immediately clicked with him thanks to their fun-loving — and big — personalities. Both are hard-working, driven, competitive and passionate about their craft and are known as high-energy presences in the dressing room. That not only makes them glue guys for the Capitals but also helped them form a brotherhood.

"He's unbelievable," Lindgren said, adding, "You realize how important of a piece he is. I remember our trainer here, Woody — I'd never met T.J. before I got here, but he's got Minnesota roots — was telling me that he's never seen T.J. have a bad day. And that's definitely what I've noticed. He's just always the guy that's pumping everyone up, always got a smile on his face and just an incredible teammate.

"I feel lucky to be a part of a dressing room with him and just to be able to call him a friend… he's the motor of our dressing room. He's just the guy that gets everyone going and gets everyone wrapped up. He's a guy that we definitely don't take for granted."

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For Oshie, the feeling's mutual. And something that also caught Oshie's eye was Lindgren's work ethic.

"What a huge addition.He joins the teammates that I've had like I've just gotten along really well with or just genuinely you just are excited to say hi in the morning… just a great human, great person and competitor on the ice. In my eyes, that's the true test, when you can compete in practice and in games, it shows your character.

"He's one of the good ones. I've had so many phenomenal teammates, and it's hard to kind of zero in on the top three, but he makes the cut for sure. His e