The long road to high expectations continues Monday as the Canucks’ four-day developmental camp opens at UBC.
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Jonathan Lekkerimaki has already projected himself as a Nikolaj Ehlers in the making.
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The Vancouver Canucks would be excited if their first pick in the National Hockey League Draft on Friday in Montreal, a Swedish sharpshooter who rose from No. 8 to No. 15, turns into a fast and fearless winger with a rocket. of a throw
Ehlers has eclipsed the 20-goal mark in his last six NHL seasons with 28, 21, 25, 21, 29 and 25 goals for the Winnipeg Jets and the 26-year-old Dane is just beginning to hit his prime. Imagine if Lekkerimaki can match or exceed what Ehlers, the ninth pick in the 2014 draft in which Jake Virtanen was sixth, has already accomplished.
Ehlers was 5-foot-11 and 162 pounds in that draft, but the Jets saw where the game was headed. Skill and speed outweighed size and growl. The fact that Lekkerimaki is 5-foot-10 and 171 pounds today shouldn’t be a cause for concern.
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“Lekkerimaki could be an Ehlers type of player,” NHL prospect scout Shane Malloy told Postmedia. “He has the potential to be a front line or second line shooter, who is a double threat. His way of playing has really improved.”
The long road to high expectations continues Monday when the Canucks’ four-day developmental camp opens at UBC with sessions from 9:45 am to 12:45 pm A scrimmage is scheduled for Thursday.
Lekkerimaki will use 20 goals in 26 games last season with the Djurgardens U-20 team in Sweden, and seven more in 26 outings with the senior club in the Swedish Hockey League, as a springboard next season to lift his club out of a Allsvenskan degradation.
He’s also buoyed by leading U-18 world champion Sweden in scoring with 15 points (5-10) in six games last spring in Germany because he won’t turn 18 until July 24.
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Meanwhile, this week for the Canucks hierarchy is a look at the present and the future. Camp scrimmage is perhaps where Lekkerimaki has a memorable run, or he lets that dreaded shot fly to remind the Canucks they may have something special.
“Obviously with his shooting, speed and ability to read the game (he gets in and out of boxes really fast), we were thrilled to have him because we didn’t expect him to be there at No. 15,” the Canucks senior manager said. player development, Ryan Johnson said Sunday.
“With the signing of (former Canucks winger) Mikael Samuelsson in Sweden, we have a great player development resource there. Now, Lekkerimaki’s focus is on playing the puck on the offensive end, protecting the puck and being able to use his attributes even better as a smaller player.
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“He’s going to focus on the details this week and work with him around the office to get as strong as possible to eventually move up to the NHL.”
Here are some of the 36 camp perspectives, including a dozen guests, to watch this week:
daemon gardener
18, C, 6-4, 200 pounds, (Omaha, Tri-City, USHL). Draft 2022: 112.
The 2021-22 USHL stats: GP:14, G:3, A:1, Sts:4.
The thin one: Life moves fast. From 45 goals and 83 points in 30 high school games in Minnesota to start last season, and then making the most of the USHL’s limited ice time, the left-shooting center is intriguing. Set to drive the lane, he will develop next fall with Chilliwack of the BCHL.
Johnson’s take: “He was a real talking point throughout our draft process as a big-frame center who can skate. Our regional scouts kept mentioning his name and kept insisting. I’m excited to see it on the ice and see what we can break down and help with growth and development.”
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deep baths
21, LW, 6-1, 184 pounds, (Red Deer, WHL). not redacted.
The 2021-22 stats: GP:68, G:43, A:69, Pts:112.
The thin one: How will the dominance of the junior loop as top scorer transfer to the pro? It’s always a challenge for prolific gamers to build a complete game and not be one-dimensional. The Surrey native has always had incentives. He overlooked the WHL bantam draft and has silenced some critics.
Johnson’s take: “He sees the game very well and he has a skill set. You hear that his skating needs to improve and we’re going to dive into that. But you cannot teach him the attributes that he has. We’re going to take him to Abbotsford (AHL) and really work out the details and fundamentals that he was maybe able to get away with in the WHL. We want him to be that 200-footer.”
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Daniel Klimovich
19, RW, 6-1, 208 pounds, (Abbotsford, AHL). Draft 2021: 41.
The 2021-22 stats: GP:62, G:8, A:10, Pts:18.
The thin one: Big, raw, creative, heavy shot and temperament. He started the last season of the AHL at 18 years old and his steep learning curve included spectacular goals, benches and fights. The Belarus native is strong with pucks and plays in traffic, and Johnson saw a lot of that as the general manager of the AHL affiliate.
Johnson’s take: “He never left after the season and I have him prepared to train in Vancouver and take language classes, which will be very important for him to understand how to train. He still has to get stronger and he’s going to be leaner and more powerful. We’re in a great place with him and I’m really looking forward to seeing him on the ice because he’s a great guy and I really care about him. We know this is a big offseason for him and he’s been doing extremely well.”
