Lekkerimaki was a potent attacking force for the Djurgardens under-20 team this year, scoring 20 goals in 26 matches.
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The Vancouver Canucks have added another Swede to their stable, selecting Jonathan Lekkerimaki 15th overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.
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In reality, he is still only 17 years old, as he will not turn 18 until the end of July. Lekkerimaki is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 171 pounds.
Nonetheless, the right-back was a powerful attacking force for the Djurgardens under-20 team this year, scoring 20 goals in 26 games.
He also played 26 games for the Djurgardens senior team in the Swedish Hockey League, scoring 7 goals against men.
Fittingly, Lekkerimaki says his favorite player is Canucks center Elias Pettersson.
“That wrist slap. Good release,” she said, a smile that stayed plastered to her face throughout the five-minute interview.
He was excited about the idea that one day they could be teammates. Lekkerimaki confidently said that he likes to play on the left side on the power play, because of course Pettersson will be on the right.
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When it was pointed out to him that his draft jersey was number 22, the same number Daniel Sedin wore, he nodded again.
“Very good Swedes. I am very proud to be a part of this organization,” he said.
Lekkerimaki smiled, having already played some SHL hockey against men.
“I felt pretty good. It was tough at first, but I got more and more comfortable the more I played,” she said.
The plan is for him to continue playing for Djurgardens next season, who have been relegated to Allsvenskan. He said that he hoped to help the team win promotion back to the SHL.
“It is very special. Djurgardens has to be in the SHL.”
His focus for the next year was to make his game more complete.
“Being more competitive and working ahead of others” were his next goals.
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Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said he and his staff considered trading down, especially as they realized how many players they liked would be 15th and the likelihood that one of them would still be available for a few picks. later, but once they saw that Lekkerimaki was still going to be available, they stayed put.
“At the end of the day, we felt like Jonathan could make a difference,” the rookie general manager said.
“You always hope to have someone that our staff likes and excites us about. So yeah, we’re very happy.”
He said Lekkerimaki was very likely to return to Djurgardens next season, although the Vancouver Giants selected him in the CHL Import Draft. He liked the fact that Djurgardens is falling to the second Swedish level.
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“I think he is in a good situation there. They developed a lot of players there,” he said. “He showed this year that he is capable of playing in the top league. And I think for young players, sometimes it’s even better for development to go down a level and hopefully get more time on the ice and gain confidence by having more of the puck. So we’re excited about that opportunity.”
Allvin described him as “Lucas Raymond-lite”.
“He is a dynamic player. He has the ability to score goals, but also to make a lot of plays. I think his hockey sense is great. And he’s a threat in a lot of different ways there.”
He agreed with Lekkerimaki’s self-assessment that he needed to work on reaching the network more.
“That’s part of playing on the biggest ice surface and you have to learn how to get to the net,” he said. And that would be even more true on the smaller ice surfaces of North America, she added.
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Lekkerimaki is indeed a great shooter, Elite Prospects’ Cam Robinson told Postmedia.
“Excellent shooter. I like very advanced mechanics and you need little to no space to get it out. A timer is equally deadly. Given the offensive opportunities in the SHL because he has the assets, but also because he wouldn’t have handled a two-way defensive style,” Robinson said.
“Very young for this crop, so he still has more opportunities to exploit, but he can also get a little frustrated losing the best game option and he can rely too much on his hands, which is generally not a translatable skill against NHLers.” .
NO DEAL
There were reports early in the draft that the Canucks and Islanders were ready to make a deal, perhaps involving JT Miller, but Allvin poured cold water on the report, saying the news surprised him.
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“I didn’t hear anything about it. …I don’t even know what to say. There is definitely nothing going on,” she said. “I’m sorry for JT. There is so much speculation out there and you know, teams are signing up and rightfully so. He was the best player last year and he is a very good hockey player. We have to keep talking here and see if we can find a path for both of us that makes sense.”
He remained open to other business ideas, but was not singularly focused on the idea of narrowing the cap space.
“We’re tight with cap space, but I don’t want to take a step back here. If there’s a hockey deal to do and improve our team and if that requires cutting some cap space to take on something … I guess we’re open to it. But it’s not like we have to reduce the cap space here.”
Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello traded the 13th pick to Montreal for defenseman Alex Romanov and a fourth-round pick; the Habs then traded the 13th pick and a third-round pick to Chicago for center Kirby Dach, but there were suggestions he may have discussed the pick with Vancouver as well.
Lamoriello was also asked about the post-draft rumors, but told reporters he’s not talking about trade talks.
“Talk to Vancouver,” he said instead.
