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

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

After reading up on Lekky..It looks on the surface like this could be a great pick.

 

[Pip]

Finally the Canucks pick a hometown kid

 

[ahmon]

Absolute homerun of a draft pick.

This is a top 10 talent.

Watched him initially as in the u20 league and he stands out like a sore thumb in that league, just the second he has the puck on his stick, you see star quality. Reminded me of watching Marner as a 16 year old on the London Knights. Never seems to be rushed to do anything. Can skate, shoot, make plays.

When he got promoted to the SHL, you would think a draft eligible player will look overwhelmed.
There's games he looked like one of the best players on the ice for either team - and this is the SHL.

Watched both him and Eklund in the SHL, and I would consider Lekkerimaki a better prospect than Eklund and he went 7th overall.

I thought after Lekkerimaki exploded at the u18s that he would never be available at 15.

The production at the u18s is comparable to what William Nylander did in his draft year.

Only thing is size somewhere between 5'10-11. Very happy with this pick.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

Always good to have a spare Brock Boeser, for when you trade one.


Hopefully?

Doesn't sound like someone you can ice against the best of the opposition really...

 

[JanBulisPiggyBack]

Haven’t seen a game from this kid yet BUT I would imagine he is a shoe in for the world juniors this August and anytime you get the most talented goal scorer in the draft you are walking away a winner

Last time I heard that I believe it was Debrincat and Caufield

 

[Bubbles]

Allvin sees him as a Lucas Raymond-lite. Interesting.

 

[JanBulisPiggyBack]

Haven’t seen a game from this kid yet BUT I would imagine he is a shoe in for the world juniors this August and anytime you get the most talented goal scorer in the draft you are walking away a winner

Last time I heard that I believe it was Debrincat and Caufield ( undersized players purely coincidence)

 

[Bitz and Bites]

If all goes well, we might have scored a top line impact player at 15 in a crapshoot draft which would be a huge win. Fingers crossed

 

[orcatown]

If you don't count Kasper (Austrian) seems the best young Swedish forward in the SHL.

Given how he was rated going into the draft, pretty clear Canucks got a player rated higher than where he as drafted. Can't complain about that.

 

[StickShift]

When should we reasonably expect Lekkerimaki to come over to North America and play pro games?

 

[Hoglander]

When should we reasonably expect Lekkerimaki to come over to North America and play pro games?

probably 2 years minimum, barring an incredible D+1 season. Guy needs to mature physically.

 

[arttk]

Absolute homerun of a draft pick.

This is a top 10 talent.

Watched him initially as in the u20 league and he stands out like a sore thumb in that league, just the second he has the puck on his stick, you see star quality. Reminded me of watching Marner as a 16 year old on the London Knights. Never seems to be rushed to do anything. Can skate, shoot, make plays.

When he got promoted to the SHL, you would think a draft eligible player will look overwhelmed.
There's games he looked like one of the best players on the ice for either team - and this is the SHL.

Watched both him and Eklund in the SHL, and I would consider Lekkerimaki a better prospect than Eklund and he went 7th overall.

I thought after Lekkerimaki exploded at the u18s that he would never be available at 15.

The production at the u18s is comparable to what William Nylander did in his draft year.

Only thing is size somewhere between 5'10-11. Very happy with this pick.

Tell me more

 

[Bleach Clean]

If you tend to value skill over tools, frame and even 2way IQ, this pick is about as good as you can get at 15. In that sense, I think it was right to actually make it there, and not trade down.

He reminds me of Teuvo Terravainen, who also dropped in his draft year ('12) from 5-8~ to 18 (Hawks). TT was short and lacked speed. The skill was evident though, and each would delay to find angles if the initial shot wasn't there. Lekk is even slighter than he was. Both were late birthdays too, IIRC.

That said, I'm generally not a fan of a higher goals to assist ratio in the stats splits. I think it speaks to something in the playstyle that needs change. The NHL is a shooter's league, yes, but play creation can be just as important. Something to watch out for.

He's not Shinkaruk. HS would apparently hustle, was bigger, and would get little done. JL is effortless and dangerous.

SHL graduation in his draft year. Raw. Extremely talented. Cerebral... Good pick.

 

[Killer Orcas]

Get this kid to work with a skating coach and if his wheels can improve we might have hit a home run. From what I read as never seen he's got a deadly hands and a wicked shot.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

So if his skating doesn't significantly improve he isn't really playing in the NHL?

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

Allvin just said he’s a gamer on 650. That’s my favorite buzzword, ha.

So Mason Raymond?

Xbox or PlayStation

Fortnite

 

[Jovofan]

The more I read about the kid the more impressed I am. Raw, but pure talent. The object of the game is scoring the most goals so you can never go wrong swinging for the fences on a guy many people list amongst the very best in their class at doing just that. Excited to watch his development.

 

[Killer Orcas]

So Mason Raymond?

If he can skate like Mason Raymond would be huge indeed hopefully he can stay on his skates though. Poor Mason never could finish though.

 

[gameface]

I thought it was kinda weird that our two female AGMs weren’t on the stage to make the pick.

And the jackass owner was.

 

[UnleashRasmus]

An absolute steal of a pick at 15. He just needed to fall one step further to be on my favorite team, however going to my second favorite in Vancouver was equally as nice!

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Pretty excited after reading up on him and watching video. Excited to follow his progress in Sweden next season.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Sweet highlight pack.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

Sweet highlight pack.

 

[wetcoast]

I like the pick but Buffalo taking his linemate center Noah Ostlund is giving me Perrault/Tallon nightmares already.

 

[Johnny Canucker]

Lmao how the hell did he fall to 15?!?!

Cuz he skates like Boeser