Abbotsford Canucks | Season Starting

[Vector]

Lekkerimäki up to 4th in the AHL in shots, one off the league lead, and 2-4 fewer GP compared to everyone else in the top 25.

He's like the living embodiment of "shooters shoot".

 

[thecupismine]

Lekkerimäki up to 4th in the AHL in shots, one off the league lead, and 2-4 fewer GP compared to everyone else in the top 25.

The volume is a good sign. His shot looked great in the pre-season, but my worry was whether he'd figure out how to get open to find lanes to get that shot off.

Don't want to see him called up quite yet, I'd rather he cook a bit more and really solidify that aspect of his game instead of throwing him to the wolves after a hot stretch.

 

[arttk]

Time to open the AHL tank thread?

Relegation baby!

 

[Jay26]

The volume is a good sign. His shot looked great in the pre-season, but my worry was whether he'd figure out how to get open to find lanes to get that shot off.

Don't want to see him called up quite yet, I'd rather he cook a bit more and really solidify that aspect of his game instead of throwing him to the wolves after a hot stretch.

Agreed. No rush to call him up. Would be nice for him to continue to get stronger before he begins playing his trade in the NHL.

 

[Tables of Stats]

Agreed. No rush to call him up. Would be nice for him to continue to get stronger before he begins playing his trade in the NHL.

It would be nice to call him up when the team's already clicking and he can slot into a place where he's a nice to have rather than a needed upgrade.

 

[VanJack]

Unfortunately Abbotsford imploded in the last 10 minutes of the third period, surrendering five goals, including an empty-netter to lose 6-4. Not sure what happened, or whether there was anything Malhotra could do with a time-out or something to stem the onslaught.

For some reason the coaching staff didn't play Tolopilo on the second half of a back-to-back. And maybe Patera ran out of gas. Never a good idea not to split the goaltending duties, unless Tolopilo was nursing some injury we don't know about.

About the only positives from this game was the play of Raty and Lekkerimaki, who are on fire right now. The 20-21 year-olds are carrying the team night after night.

 

[LemonSauceD]

Let Raty and Lekkerimaki cook with each other for the rest of this calendar year. Re evaluate early next year.

Man would it be such a great thing for this organization if these two pan out.

 

[Vector]

I wonder if the Canucks take a purposeful step back next season by integrating a bunch of rookies/young players. Bains, Raty, Lekkerimaki, Willander, and Pettersson all pushing for full-time jobs. Usually playoff teams only try to integrate one or two rookies maximum. With the tight cap situation, it may make sense to get those guys going in the NHL and, hopefully, benefit the season afterwards.

 

[Jerry the great]

I wonder if the Canucks take a purposeful step back next season by integrating a bunch of rookies/young players. Bains, Raty, Lekkerimaki, Willander, and Pettersson all pushing for full-time jobs. Usually playoff teams only try to integrate one or two rookies maximum. With the tight cap situation, it may make sense to get those guys going in the NHL and, hopefully, benefit the season afterwards.

I could see two or three of those guys playing decent minutes for Vancouver this year.

 

[LemonSauceD]

I wonder if the Canucks take a purposeful step back next season by integrating a bunch of rookies/young players. Bains, Raty, Lekkerimaki, Willander, and Pettersson all pushing for full-time jobs. Usually playoff teams only try to integrate one or two rookies maximum. With the tight cap situation, it may make sense to get those guys going in the NHL and, hopefully, benefit the season afterwards.

I think Raty and Willander will pretty much be pencilled in as full time Canucks by the end of this season or by the start of the next.

We’ll see how Lekky does. IMO if he’s ready he’s ready, I don’t see a point in letting him cook for too long if he’s going to hover around PPG numbers. His skillset is already something this team severely lacks. I would probably reevaluate this player every month and see how he’s tracking and get him to the big club ASAP assuming he’s still progressing.

It’s a similar approach to what Dallas has been doing for years now. Hintz, Robertson, Harley, Stankoven, Johnston, Bourque had their cup of tea in the NHL, allowed to develop a bit in the minors, before being recalled up again (more or less a similar process to this) and given opportunities to succeed and they all integrated nicely. They are able to do this because they already have a great support system of veteran guys still at the top of their games to insulate them. We have this exact same recipe and even better we have a younger existing core.

This team has had such a poor track record of effectively integrating prospects that I quite honestly am not sure how comfortable I’d be letting some of our higher touted prospect just sit in Abby for too long.

The transition of guys like Raty, Lekkerimaki, D-Petey, and soon Willander imo should start relatively soon. This would be beneficial rather than have all 4 start their rookie seasons at the same time with who knows whatever roster we have September 2025.