Prospect Info: Jonathan Lekkerimaki, #15 Overall, 2022 NHL Draft

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I just watched a bunch of his footage and I don’t get the Boeser comparison. Boeser is more of a soft area, quick one-touch shooter who isn’t very mobile.

JL seemed much more comfortable moving around the ice and he was comfortable holding the puck and finding the right shot or pass (but I do agree he did sometimes miss the better pass options for a worse one or elect to shoot when he could have had passed). I see more of a Pastrnak to his game if anything the way he moves, shoots, and processes the game. I get the excitement about him from some scouts and the Canucks; if he’s anything close to a smaller Pastrnak-lite he can be a very good player.
 
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The team itself was been relegated to Allsvenskan because of its season performance. It's how the SHL works.



Shooting 400 pucks a day has given him an unreal shot, absolutely no wind-up and is hard as a slap shot.

It's actually good as really good vets will move up to other SHL squads and Lekkerimäki and the younger guys will get more ice time
 
Finally some luck in the draft for the Canucks? Most of the scouting services have concluded that there's no way this guy should still have been on the board at #15. Apparently the Canuck scouts were getting more excited with each passing pick without Lekkerimaki's name being called.
 
He's nowhere near JV. Or Grabner. ElMaki lacks the physical tools those two relied upon to get by.

This is a smart player who is patient and deadly on the ice. That doesn't happen without extraordinary IQ. He just has to get better at deciding to push or pass on a dime. That's it. Everything else is fine, but that one change could catapult him to a new level.
My feeling is that he’s very passive. Great skill, dangerous because he’s always waiting in the weeds, smartly intervenes when he sees he can press the advantage, but he needs to be more proactive over all - facilitate possession, battle more for position. Maybe that’s an issue of physicality, but it seems more one of personality.

The encouraging thing is that he’s bluntly honest with himself about his shortcomings (re: his defensive play, how his interview went). Shows maturity to have self insight. Of course, it’s one thing to be aware and another thing altogether to make adjustments accordingly.

Will be monitoring his D+1 with great interest.
 
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Still can't believe we have this player, his production at every level so far has the makeup of a top 5 player.
Even from reading comments from other fanbase commentators (who's opinion I trust, and have no bias toward the Canucks) see this pick as a potential home run.
 
I just watched a bunch of his footage and I don’t get the Boeser comparison. Boeser is more of a soft area, quick one-touch shooter who isn’t very mobile.

JL seemed much more comfortable moving around the ice and he was comfortable holding the puck and finding the right shot or pass (but I do agree he did sometimes miss the better pass options for a worse one or elect to shoot when he could have had passed). I see more of a Pastrnak to his game if anything the way he moves, shoots, and processes the game. I get the excitement about him from some scouts and the Canucks; if he’s anything close to a smaller Pastrnak-lite he can be a very good player.
I think he's a bit more of a cerebral sniper than Boeser is. He plays a lot of mindgames with the puck on his stick, while Boeser's scouting report from when he was drafted thats somewhat carried into his play in the NHL is being a sturdy, fundamentally sound shooter.

Boeser is the more strong forward that leverages accuracy and his quick release to put the puck where he wants it, while Lekkerimaki is a bit slighter, relying on skill and deception to make his openings. His release is pretty interesting and atypical; he rushes through his shot while limiting his follow-through for a really snappy and hard to read wrister. It doesn't give the goalie much time to read his shoulders and hips, and he requires very little setting and leaning to begin with because of how adept he is at using his stick.

As we've seen with EP using his slight frame to blast 100mph slapshots and top shelf wristers off the rush, stick technology has gotten to the point that using your stick more than your body to give fewer tells while not sacrificing power has become an extremely viable and dangerous weapon. Moreover, needing less time and space to let off quick, accurate shots means a lot more high danger scoring opportunities from more areas of the ice. I've heard him described as "always dangerous", forcing respect from defenders and preparation from the goalie at all times, and his shot is a huge part of why.

I'd say the differences in Boeser/Lekkerimaki come from their frame, and how they influenced the development of their skills and playstyle in junior. Boeser is, and projected to be, the better two-way possession player due to his strength and center of gravity, while Lekkerimaki is much more in the mould of Pettersson or Pastrnak that developed their scoring instincts while being smaller and lighter.

For reference, when drafted:
Brock Boeser: 6'1 192 lb
Elias Pettersson: 6'2 161 lb
David Pastrnak: 6'0 165 lb
Jonathan Lekkerimaki: 5'11 172 lb
 
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Outside of Horvath who he traded to draft, who did he ever draft of quality? Wasn't big on the Q or The Dub, outside of Shinkaruk! LMAO All the players on the the Presidents Trophy season were drafted by someone else except for Hodgson. Everyone else was a free agent or trade. I like Mikey but.
His drafting sucked but he was still able to assemble a good supporting cast to make the team into a president trophy winning team.

Every GM inherits players from the previous regime, do you expect every Gm to get rid of every player they inherit just so they can claim whatever success they get is truly theirs?
 
His drafting sucked but he was still able to assemble a good supporting cast to make the team into a president trophy winning team.

Every GM inherits players from the previous regime, do you expect every Gm to get rid of every player they inherit just so they can claim whatever success they get is truly theirs?
Absolutely, what is amazing about him is how badly he drafted, his trading was slightly in his favour and his free agent signings were very good. I like Mikey, but he left a bare cupboard, no-one would care if they had won the cup.
 
Absolutely, what is amazing about him is how badly he drafted, his trading was slightly in his favour and his free agent signings were very good. I like Mikey, but he left a bare cupboard, no-one would care if they had won the cup.
Right, we were one game away from nobody giving a shit about his bad drafting.
 
Even from reading comments from other fanbase commentators (who's opinion I trust, and have no bias toward the Canucks) see this pick as a potential home run.

If you looked at Buffalo's board before the 15th pick, they were salivating on Lekkermaki being their pick until Allvin sprinted up the podium and announced the pick without any hesitation.
 
So the big question is. Who is going to be the better prospect between Sillinger/guenther and lekk?

Or will dim be a secret genius and Garland ends up better than both? Stay tuned! 😂

So here are the choices. Guenther/ Sillinger or lekk? I know both would be nice but yeah dim happened.

Or Garland and Oel plus cap space for one meaningless season(meaningful in March to some weirdos) or guenther/Sillinger , 7.25 mill cap for 5 more seasons, 2023 7th, and hunter haight?

Fight!
Has nothing to do with who's better. Lekkerimaki will be a scorer and that is good

As you outlined it's a 30yr old defenseman @ 7.25 x 6 and a player who is close to Sillinger/Guenther in probability but already also being paid. (Sillinger looks better in trajectory)

9th OA plus a 2nd rounder for 12.25 in cap space in 2 players who dont bend the needle and put the time frame in peril because if OEL declines outside a top4 it's not only bad cap allocation it's opportunity cost plus draft assets (one of which represented the 2nd most valuable thing in the NHL behind impact players which is blue chips playing on ELCs)

Should only ever be exercised for Cup contention and even then it's not ideal because when your a contender you typically are cap strapped also which adds the value to Byram and Newhook. But i guess it's rare to have both a 9OA and be a contender also. If OEL was 26 it could be a different story

The only saving grace is if OEL ages as Edler has as he's a slightly better player to begin with so at 35/36 he's still a good top4

It was Jimbo trying to plug the hole in the dam and save his bacon after bubble gate off season and off topic.

Lekkerimaki will be a nice scorer for this team. I hope my earlier comments were not taken the wrong way. Of the players left he is one of the only one's who has a top line #1 PP profile and that's exciting.

How were gonna get a middle six C and a top4 D in the system is another story.
 
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Don't think he's on the roster. No big deal its a 19yr old tourney and he's 17

Next December he will be

Is he ineligible?

I would be pretty surprised if he isn't selected. He's playing in the SHL I doubt the bottom portion of team Sweden U20 is playing at that level.
 
Don't think he's on the roster. No big deal its a 19yr old tourney and he's 17

Next December he will be
Can't imagine why he wouldn't be on the roster. He dominated at the U18 tournament, easily winning the scoring title with 15 points in 6 games. They weren't all easy points either. He got 4 points in the final against the USA.
 
Is he ineligible?

I would be pretty surprised if he isn't selected. He's playing in the SHL I doubt the bottom portion of team Sweden U20 is playing at that level.
Can't imagine why he wouldn't be on the roster. He dominated at the U18 tournament, easily winning the scoring title with 15 points in 6 games. They weren't all easy points either. He got 4 points in the final against the USA.
Just watched an interview with Cam Robinson and he said that he wasn't rostered for the U20 tourney nor any of Ostlund and Ohgren.

The tourney was cancelled and i would think it would be disrespectful to the players already chosen who have one last chance at this and had it re scheduled to bump 3 or more from the roster for 17 barely 18yr olds.

It's pretty standard for Sweden that has a lot of depth and talent
 
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Just watched an interview with Cam Robinson and he said that he wasn't rostered for the U20 tourney nor any of Ostlund and Ohgren.

The tourney was cancelled and i would think it would be disrespectful to the players already chosen who have one last chance at this and had it re scheduled to bump 3 or more from the roster for 17 barely 18yr olds.

It's pretty standard for Sweden that has a lot of depth and talent
Right. I forgot the players were already selected many months ago.
 
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After watching some clips and the shift by shift that was posted, I don't expect skating to hold Maki Daddi back. I mean top speed is never going to be his defining feature, but he's good at using his edge work to create time and space.

And with his release, he doesn't need much of either.

If he doesn't end up becoming a top 6 player, it won't be because of his skating.
 
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Drance is probably parroting Cam Robinson, who I think has made the most astute comment when evaluating JL: "[paraphrase] He tends to struggle with making the optimal decision every time he has the puck. Most of the time it works out because he's so skilled, but he misses plays that could have been better".

That, I think, is JL's greatest weakness. His speed is good enough, and his 2way game is satisfactory, but it's his read to utilize his teammates that could be better. Sometimes he salvages things by finding mates later on in the play, but ideally, he should have gotten rid of the puck sooner.

I don't see it as a huge detriment. Other shoot first players have done this in the past and have still had great careers. He will develop this over time, IMO.

Reading this made me think back to Kesler's comment: "He (AV) wants me to use my wingers more?"

I mean Lekkermaki isn't Kesler, but if he plays with good players, I think they will be finding him with the puck. It's not like he's a blackhole offensively!
 
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