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

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PuckMunchkin said:
Bump

Seriously?

No hot takes from jr camp on our no.1 prospect?

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I got really happy seeing the Sedins in the development role, teaching the young guys a thing or two. Would be awesome if the Sedins took all the young Swedes under their wing. Probably the two highest IQ players in our history, who understood the game better than anyone else.

Plus they got the career and hardware that if they're giving you advice, you better listen and pick up a thing or two.
 
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He looks like Mitch Marner. Obviously doesn't have the vision or playmaking of MM, but he has that cool calm personality. Hope he can continue to get stronger and develop in Sweden. Ohgren looked like a safer pick, but I'm glad we took a chance on this sniper as he looks to have some gamebreaking talent.
 
Draft sites sifting through the aftermath of the 2022 draft are still scratching their heads trying to figure how this kid fell to the Canucks at 15th overall. Lekkerimaki was a consensus top-10 pick on almost every draft board.

Normally there's some concern when you draft a 'faller' in the first round.....but in this case the Canucks simply lucked out. Sort like the 2018 draft when Quinn Hughes was still on the board for the Canucks at #7 overall.
 
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Buresflyingelbow said:
They said he still wasn’t fully healed from Mono that he caught through the year. Apparently he played sick/with little energy last year.
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Wow if he put up the stats he did last year playing through mono with little energy, then what is he going to be like when fully healthy!?
Hope he is completely recovered! He could be in for a monster season.
 
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VanJack said:
Draft sites sifting through the aftermath of the 2022 draft are still scratching their heads trying to figure how this kid fell to the Canucks at 15th overall. Lekkerimaki was a consensus top-10 pick on almost every draft board.

Normally there's some concern when you draft a 'faller' in the first round.....but in this case the Canucks simply lucked out. Sort like the 2018 draft when Quinn Hughes was still on the board for the Canucks at #7 overall.
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Definitely looking like we got a 7-8th overall pick at 15. Pretty stoked about that considering that's about where we rightfully should have been drafting.
 
What continues to astonish me is how some kids who don't look that big or strong, can absolutely wire the puck. I mean Lekkerimaki is listed generously at 5'11" and 172, but his shot is already NHL quality.

Years and years of practice I guess. But just goes to show that becoming a lethal shooter owes more to balance and technique, that it does size and bench-press strength.
 
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VanJack said:
What continues to astonish me is how some kids who don't look that big or strong, can absolutely wire the puck. I mean Lekkerimaki is listed generously at 5'11" and 172, but his shot is already NHL quality.

Years and years of practice I guess. But just goes to show that becoming a lethal shooter owes more to balance and technique, that it does size and bench-press strength.
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Height makes a big difference because the taller you are, the more extension you will get. That extension makes the blade of the stick move faster and gives your slap shot more velocity. I wonder what mph he is shooting the puck at. At 5’10 he can’t be getting in the 100mph range like Pettersson.
 
So top 15 picks were as follows:

1658437565987.png


Top 4 - no question they all go before Lek
Cutter - fast riser with size, big kid who might be able to play C, seems tailor made for Philly
Jiricek - big RHD, consistently ranked above Lek
Korchinski - first surprise but fast rising dman
Kasper - fast rising C, typical Stevie Y pick
Savoie - consistently ranked in Top 10, ability to play C or W
Mintyukov - Anaheim building out the LHD after drafting forwards and Drysdale (RHD) in previous years
Geekie - Zona lite down the middle and went with big upside C to compliment smaller, more skilled Cooley
Mateychuk - First real possible spot for Lek. But CBJ love their D and after drafting 2 Cs and RHD in the prior year, along with Chinakov the year before, offset the RHD in Jiricek with LHD
Nazar - love this kid. Had him ranked in the Top 10. Chi lite down the middle and draft C to compliment drafting D with Korchinski
McGroarty - this to me could have been the landing spot for Lek (or Kemmell) but Peg usually like forwards with size so makes sense to given their typical MO

So overall, I can understand why Lek dropped.

Either way, happy he did.
 
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Scorch Canucks Earth said:
Maybe you should start a thread predicting that he will be General Manager of the Year Calder Trophy winner.
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Still hurt by that thread I see.

We'll see how his D+1 season goes. Would rather see him play at the SHL level because judging by his numbers in a limited capacity in the SHL last season, he belongs there. I'll predict he will get rookie of the year in HockeyAllsvenskan.

He is a talented player, so at this point he has just as good a chance at the Calder as anyone else in his age group.
 
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Diversification said:
If you like Will Scouch’s take, he also makes it a point that the 3 players benefit from the chemistry they have as a long term line. He doesn’t like Lekkerimaki’s play-driving potential (dropping him to 2nd with Ostlund 3rd) , which is why he favored Liam Oghren’s higher floor.

When I watched that clip, I was struck by the parallels between Djurgarden’s line and the WCE with Ostlund reprising the role of BMo, Oghren as Bertuzzi (okay, maybe a stretch) and Lekk as Naslund.

It’s something to think about as Lekkerimaki makes his way onto the team - the types of players he plays optimally with.

One more thing from Scouching that was interesting for me: Lekkerimaki’s offensive zone transition numbers are surprisingly good. Given his sort of passive style of play, it indicates a good level of on-ice IQ.
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I thought this same thing when watching the trio: WCE.

Nostalgia aside, while I don't disagree with Scouching on the point of favouring the floor over the ceiling, here, Ohgren and Lekkerimaki should convert. And so, the ranking shouldn't favour only Ohgren for that reason.

Anyway, I didn't really see a player like JL available at that spot, so this draft will be different for me in terms of tracking alternatives. Even Kemell, IMO, does not compare. Different players despite the similarities in stature.

Here's to hoping this pick turns out and the Canucks have one less team position to worry about.
 
Just A Bit Outside said:
So top 15 picks were as follows:

View attachment 571486

Top 4 - no question they all go before Lek
Cutter - fast riser with size, big kid who might be able to play C, seems tailor made for Philly
Jiricek - big RHD, consistently ranked above Lek
Korchinski - first surprise but fast rising dman
Kasper - fast rising C, typical Stevie Y pick
Savoie - consistently ranked in Top 10, ability to play C or W
Mintyukov - Anaheim building out the LHD after drafting forwards and Drysdale (RHD) in previous years
Geekie - Zona lite down the middle and went with big upside C to compliment smaller, more skilled Cooley
Mateychuk - First real possible spot for Lek. But CBJ love their D and after drafting 2 Cs and RHD in the prior year, along with Chinakov the year before, offset the RHD in Jiricek with LHD
Nazar - love this kid. Had him ranked in the Top 10. Chi lite down the middle and draft C to compliment drafting D with Korchinski
McGroarty - this to me could have been the landing spot for Lek (or Kemmell) but Peg usually like forwards with size so makes sense to given their typical MO

So overall, I can understand why Lek dropped.

Either way, happy he did.
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What was weird was how few players were drafted from Canadian clubs this year

22- 9
21- 15
20- 19
19- 14
18- 12
17- 15
16- 18
15- 17
14- 20
13- 22
12- 18
11- 21
 
logan5 said:
Height makes a big difference because the taller you are, the more extension you will get. That extension makes the blade of the stick move faster and gives your slap shot more velocity. I wonder what mph he is shooting the puck at. At 5’10 he can’t be getting in the 100mph range like Pettersson.
Click to expand...

He's probably close. His mechanics are better than 99.9% of hockey players. Best shooter I have seen in a LONG time.
 
Grantham said:
He looks like Mitch Marner. Obviously doesn't have the vision or playmaking of MM, but he has that cool calm personality. Hope he can continue to get stronger and develop in Sweden. Ohgren looked like a safer pick, but I'm glad we took a chance on this sniper as he looks to have some gamebreaking talent.
Click to expand...

They're completely different style players. Marner is the type of playmaking winger that comes along once in a generation. Lekkerimaki's calling card is his shot.
 
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