Klingberg, Lindell forging unique leadership duo for Stars

FRISCO, Texas -- As leadership pairs go, this one is a little unusual.
John Klingberg is a skinny, skilled Swedish defenseman. Esa Lindell is a quiet, positionally sound Finnish defenseman. They each have their strengths and weaknesses, and they each are part of the four-man rotating group that serves as alternate captains for the Stars.
They also are very good friends.

Lindell has worn the "A" at various times in the past, but was given a full-time rotation after the All-Star break. He and Tyler Seguin will wear it for home games. Klingberg and Blake Comeau will wear it for away games. It's an attempt by the coaching staff to spread the leadership around a little bit, and also a move to recognize what Lindell and Comeau have done for the team.
"When I came here last year, Esa was the biggest surprise for me," said Stars interim coach Rick Bowness, who said he didn't know much about Lindell before he got here. "He's just so reliable defensively, he can eat up a lot of minutes, but he's intelligent about his minutes. He can play against the best players, he's good on the power play.
"Esa Lindell, you talk about a team MVP, he's at the top of the list."

Lindell is second on the team in time on ice this season at 23:41. He was second last season, as well, and second the year before. He and Klingberg form a solid top pairing, and Lindell also leads all NHL players in shorthanded time on ice at 4:00 per game. That's 29 seconds more than the next closest player.
All of that is to say that Lindell is a very good player, who understands the intricacies of the NHL after logging 294 games over parts of five season. That experience is what will help not only forge who he is an alternate captain, but give him the confidence to grow in the job.
"I'm just going to be myself," said Lindell, 25. "I think it has to be natural. If you worry too much or try to do too much, I think it takes away from what you want to be. I think if you just try to be yourself, that's the best way."
It's a philosophy Lindell has learned from Klingberg. The 27-year-old is more talkative and has a better grasp of the English language, but said he did not change when he got a letter to start the 2017 season.
"How I see it is they put a letter on me because they liked what I was doing and they trusted me, so why would I change anything?" Klingberg said. "Honestly, I'm going to act the same whether I have a letter or not, so that's how I have reacted to it."
Klingberg said that he actually thought a lot during his youth about how he is perceived. Listed at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, he carries his weight on a thin frame and does not have the dimensions to be a big, physical player on the ice. Because of that, he has had to dig in and show his competitive spirit in different ways.

"I was never the best player on the team when I was young, so I had to work harder than everybody else, and I think that's helped me a lot," Klingberg said. "I guess I have been proving over and over since I was young that I can play. I think people see physical play and think that's what a competitor is, but I think I can work hard and play hard and play smart, and I am competitive.
"I'm physical in my way, and I have a good stick, and I feel like that works for me."
Having Lindell as his usual partner helps. Listed at 6-3, 220, Lindell can not only hit, but can help clear the crease or win a board battle with muscle. He is incredibly consistent, and that's what coaches see when they are looking at leadership.
"I've had some great captains who didn't say a word, they just went out and led by example," Bowness said. "You watch Esa play, and he plays the game hard. That's the respect he has around the league, that's the respect he has from his teammates. I don't consider language barrier; leadership is what you do on the ice."
Lindell is naturally soft-spoken, and said he does struggle a little with his English. That said, he is getting better with the language and also is leading younger players Miro Heiskanen, Roope Hintz and Joel Kiviranta to get better in many facets of playing in North America.
"You have to get to a place where you are comfortable with it. It's something I can get better at," Lindell said when asked what leadership means to him. "I'm not someone who is going to tell people how to do something, so you have to find a way to help them and lead them in your own way.

"I was a player who needed to talk to the older guys just a few years ago, so I try to help the younger guys in the same way. "That's something I think is pretty easy. If I can tell someone younger there is something they can do better, I will do that."
And if he can help Klingberg, he will do that. And if Klingberg can help him, they will do that. They've been friends for a while now, and they understand each other pretty well.
"I think he and I think a lot of the same thoughts, so we get each other," Klingberg said when asked about the smiles the two exchange at times during the game or on the practice ice. "We played this game when we were kids because it was fun, that's how we started. Now, we want to keep that going. There are times when there's a lot of pressure out there, and you have to be able to handle that and rise to that, but you can't forget it's a game."
They are an odd coupling in a lot of ways, but they have so much to do with helping the Stars win hockey games.
And that's pretty much what leadership is.
"It's a good pair," Bowness said. "It's a good blend."
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.