Bonded by Boyhood Games, Group Chat

For Ryan and Charlie Lindgren, brotherly love is a group-chat experience.

It says a lot about Kraken defenseman Ryan Lindgren and his goaltender brother Charlie that both guys instantly and specifically mention their “firefighter” brother Andrew without prompting when asked about being siblings who play in the NHL. The two NHLers have a family group chat but also one with just the three brothers.

“We're all extremely close,” said Lindgren about the three brothers during a locker room conversation at Kraken Community Iceplex this past week. “We spend a lot of time together in the summer [the Lindgrens grew up in the Minneapolis suburb of Burnsville]. During the season, it's a little tough because obviously we don't see each other a whole lot. But we’ve got the family group chat and the three of us have our own group chat. We try to talk on the phone when we can.”

As it turns out, all three brothers have their own separate brotherhoods as well. The two NHLer brothers have their respective teammates while Andrew is deeply connected to his colleagues at the firehouse back in Minnesota. Proof positive is six firefighters accompanied Andrew to Seattle last Monday for the Washington and Toronto home games, staying at a local rented house while Grandpa Lindgren and the Lindgrens’ mother and father stayed with the Kraken defenseman. In a highly unusual instance, the Capitals were in town for several days of rest, practice and the Tuesday game. In fact, Ryan and Charlie were together to watch the Seahawks’ big NFC title win last Sunday.

Popular and Respected as Teammates

Both NHL brothers are beloved by teammates and coaches. Kraken head coach Lane Lambert frequently shoutouts his defensive stalwart for key shot blocks and playing banged up from same. Washington forward Nic Dowd scored a rare-for-him shootout-winning goal against Detroit Thursday, made possible by Charlie stopping the Red Wings final shootout attempt despite fighting a lower-body injury suffered late in overtime. Dowd said, “I didn’t what him to face another shot after everything he had done to give us a chance to win.”

One might be tempted to consider Ryan Lindgren the stoic and quiet type. Stoic, yes, quiet type? Not so much on the ice, per his current defensive partner, Ryker Evans.

“He's a very reliable guy,” said Evans. “He makes it easy to play with. His reads are great. He talks lot on the ice and he supports you.”

Gaming Childhood Competitions

What’s more, in conversation about his brother Charlie, Lindgren has plenty to say. One topic prompting smiles is older brother Charlie, 32, claiming, “I had Ryan’s number,” while playing sports and board games, especially ‘Sorry’ as kids. Ryan, 27, concedes maybe that was partially true at younger ages but considers it ancient history these days.

“That's not even close to truth,” said Lindgren with a sly grin. “Yeah, maybe like board games or something when we were younger. But now, tennis, golf, whatever else we do, ping pong, I think I've got the upper edge on him ... It's changed now.”

Both brothers do concede their grandfather is still the master champion at cribbage.

“We played [Tuesday] night, best of five,” said Ryan, clearly happy his grandfather was visiting Seattle for the first time. “He's had my number since he's been here. He's pretty good. It's always fun playing with him. Cribbage is fun.”

Following His Brother’s Steps to NHL

Lindgren, five years younger than Charlie, said his brother’s hockey journey was invaluable in learning the route to the NHL. While Charlie started in the USHL before playing at NCAA Division I St. Cloud State, Ryan was selected to U.S. National Team Development program in 2014 as Charlie was embarking on his second of three seasons at St. Cloud. Ryan also played college hockey, choosing the University of Minnesota.

Both brothers developed their games in the American Hockey League for a full first season. From there, Charlie split time between the AHL and his NHL team, which was Montreal as an undrafted prospect and later St. Louis before going full-time with Washington for the 2022-23 season. The goaltender has appeared in 167 regular season NHL games, ranging between 30 and 50 appearances (18 this season) per hockey year.

Ryan was a 2016 second rounder drafted by Boston, which moved him to the New York Rangers at the 2018 NHL Trade Deadline as a package of players and picks in exchange for forward Rick Nash. He was called up from AHL Hartford early in the 2020-21 season, playing 60 games for the Rangers and becoming a mainstay defender and postseason standout.

“From a hockey standpoint, it was big to have an older brother playing games in the NHL and have someone to look up to,” said the Kraken D-man. “I was trying to do what he did. Being able to work out with him and skate with him in summers and see how hard he works ... I'm incredibly fortunate ... He spent a good amount of time in the AHL and had success there. He finally got a shot in Washington and he really ran with it.”

‘Couldn’t Stomach Scoring on Me’

For his part, Charlie admits to some big-brother complex elements in his earlier days playing with Ryan and Andrew for “hours in the driveway playing street hockey or shooting in the basement or playing football or whatever.”

“Especially as the oldest brother, my mindset was, ‘I can never let my younger brothers get the better of me,’” said the Caps goaltender, smiling himself during a chat last Monday. “Even when it came to hockey [on the ice], I didn't want Ryan skating with me. I didn't let him skate with me until he was pretty much 21 years old. Just because I couldn't stomach my younger brother scoring on me at any point. Now it's OK. He comes out and shoots on me every summer.”

Facing each other at the pro level hit a zenith during the 2024 divisional Stanley Cup Playoffs series between the Rangers and Capitals. Charlie was the starting goalie for Washington in what was ultimately a NYR sweep. It took Charlie some time to recover emotionally from the early out, but he wished his brother good luck in the traditional handshake line.

Facing Each as Skater-Goalie for Only Fourth Time

Per the talented and dedicated NHL Stats & Information crew at the league offices, the Lindgrens became the 36th set of brothers to play at least one NHL playoff game against each other. It was only the fourth instance of one of the brothers being a skater and the other a goalie, most famously following Boston center Phil and Chicago goalie brother Tony Esposito, both Hall of Fame players, who faced each other 13 times during the first half of the 1970s.

The Kraken defenseman drew raves for his 2024 postseason play when the Rangers went deep, playing 16 games that postseason. Currently, he regularly is praised by Seattle’s defensively minded head coach, most recently for taking on a young New Jersey forward in a first-period bout as sort of an appetizer to Kraken and Seahawks doubleheader victories last Sunday.

“I liked his game a lot [in the Sunday win],” said Lambert. “He was plus-3 [goals for/goals against]. I've liked his game a lot for a long time. He always gives you everything he's got. There's no lack of commitment. There's no lack of effort from Ryan Lindgren.”

And, oh brother, Charlie Lindgren surely knows that first-hand via NHL rinks, once on the family driveway and now at summer tennis courts and golf courses.