Jonathan Lekkerimaki - Arrived in Abbotsford

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Last one was over 1,000 posts. Think we could use a new one.

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[PuckMunchkin]

Will be interesting to see how this goes.

Im not 100% sure he is physically ready for the grind of AHL.

 

[StreetHawk]

Will be interesting to see how this goes.

Im not 100% sure he is physically ready for the grind of AHL.

Just consider it his intro to the smaller ice. Allows him to get a bit acclimated to less time and space.

 

[Kryten]

Boeser rn

 

[Baby Pettersson]

Our Lord and saviour!

 

[Nucker101]

Boeser rn

I don’t think Boeser has to worry. Tocchet isn’t gonna give this kid an easy ride imo.

 

[LordBacon]

better keep his head up,
AHL is full of goons and dirty hitters

Really interested to see how this goes

 

[VanJack]

Will be interesting to see how this goes.

Im not 100% sure he is physically ready for the grind of AHL.

Why? He played the entire season the SHL, where most of the guys are at least four or five years older. Maybe not as physical a league as the AHL, but I'm pretty sure more than a few veteran guys took runs at him over there.

 

[iceburg]

Both D-Petey and Lek like to play with a bit of an edge. I don't think the physical play will be a big challenge for either of them. On the other hand getting used to quicker decision making will take some time.

 

[strattonius]

Why? He played the entire season the SHL, where most of the guys are at least four or five years older. Maybe not as physical a league as the AHL, but I'm pretty sure more than a few veteran guys took runs at him over there.

Its an enormous jump from the SHL to the AHL physically.

A way more condensed schedule; more physical hockey due to the smaller ice surface; and the players are bigger and better.
It's going to be the biggest jump in play Lekkerimaki has ever experienced in his career.

The biggest jump for younger players is the difference in physicality and overall fatigue of the schedule in the AHL compared to Europe elite leagues. Kind of surprising you would ask why to be honest.

 

[iceburg]

Its an enormous jump from the SHL to the AHL physically.

A way more condensed schedule; more physical hockey due to the smaller ice surface; and the players are bigger and better.
It's going to be the biggest jump in play Lekkerimaki has ever experienced in his career.

The biggest jump for younger players is the difference in physicality and overall fatigue of the schedule in the AHL compared to Europe elite leagues. Kind of surprising you would ask why to be honest.

Not speaking for @VanJack but I took it as a response to the goon/dirty hitter comments not the overall physicality of the league.

 

[sting101]

Its an enormous jump from the SHL to the AHL physically.

A way more condensed schedule; more physical hockey due to the smaller ice surface; and the players are bigger and better.
It's going to be the biggest jump in play Lekkerimaki has ever experienced in his career.

The biggest jump for younger players is the difference in physicality and overall fatigue of the schedule in the AHL compared to Europe elite leagues. Kind of surprising you would ask why to be honest.

its a way bigger jump from junior to pro

The smaller rink and a more robust game will be an adjustment. JL taking on defenses wont be much different at all.
The adjustment to the boards and then possibly a playoff series/s which has a wear down your opponent component which amps up physical contact would be my only concern.

That said he's ready it's just a matter of what does he stand to gain by playing a few non meaningful games AHL vs just practicing and then playing in the Worlds

It's more important that he gets experience then be able to train after asap.

Just managing odds of injury potential. Other than that lets gooooo

 

[ziploc]

My concern is how he will adjust to the bright lights, big city aspect of Abbotsford. Temptations abound for a young man with means.

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

Kid is going to need time and likely, alot of it.

Given how long it has taken Hog and Pod to get consistent minutes at the NHL level, let alone the likes of Raty, etc in the AHL, one should not expect immediate returns.

Good they are bringing him over now because he needs to adjust to the NA game.

He has some great attributes, especially offensively.

But the pace of the game and specifically, the defensive side, is something that will take a fair amount of adjustment.

 

[VintageBure]

The small ice will be an adjustment; I won’t be too worried if he doesn’t like eight it up to end the year. Next year should be more definitive

 

[valkynax]

Kid is going to need time and likely, alot of it.

Given how long it has taken Hog and Pod to get consistent minutes at the NHL level, let alone the likes of Raty, etc in the AHL, one should not expect immediate returns.

Good they are bringing him over now because he needs to adjust to the NA game.

He has some great attributes, especially offensively.

But the pace of the game and specifically, the defensive side, is something that will take a fair amount of adjustment.

I was hoping he'll be able to chip during this year's playoff run, but I guess that's pushing it. Let the kid play in AHL and take time to ready himself.

 

[VanJack]

Abby is down a top-six forward with the recall of Bains to Vancouver.....Come on Colliton and the Canucks.....make it happen for Lekkerimaki this weekend in Colorado!

 

[Huggy43]

Why? He played the entire season the SHL, where most of the guys are at least four or five years older. Maybe not as physical a league as the AHL, but I'm pretty sure more than a few veteran guys took runs at him over there.

Look at how Anton Rodin faired in the AHL compared to the SHL. It’s a pretty big jump physically.

 

[VanJack]

If Lekerimakki had played the entire year in the Swedish Jr. Leagues, then it would be understandable that you wouldn't want to throw him off the deep end in the AHL.

But in checking the SHL scoring leaders, there's a ton of former NHL'ers and AHL'ers playing in this league. Must confess I haven't seen a single SHL game this season, and only the odd YouTube highlight.

But given the number of NA pros playing in Sweden, is the SHL really light-years behind the AHL? And would it be as much an adjustment to the AHL for Lekerimakki as some posters seem to think it is?

 

[mathonwy]

I love hockey matches. They are the best. I am definitely not AI.

 

[Burke's Evil Spirit]

My concern is how he will adjust to the bright lights, big city aspect of Abbotsford. Temptations abound for a young man with means.

Stay away from the meth!

 

[LemonSauceD]

If Lekerimakki had played the entire year in the Swedish Jr. Leagues, then it would be understandable that you wouldn't want to throw him off the deep end in the AHL.

But in checking the SHL scoring leaders, there's a ton of former NHL'ers and AHL'ers playing in this league. Must confess I haven't seen a single SHL game this season, and only the odd YouTube highlight.

But given the number of NA pros playing in Sweden, is the SHL really light-years behind the AHL? And would it be as much an adjustment to the AHL for Lekerimakki as some posters seem to think it is?

It’s definitely a jump but it shouldn’t be a whole different level for him. NA ice and more physicality is the main difference. The skill level is pretty similar but the AHL still does have the edge.

 

[Bleach Clean]

It’s definitely a jump but it shouldn’t be a whole different level for him. NA ice and more physicality is the main difference. The skill level is pretty similar but the AHL still does have the edge.

Per 2021's NHLe, the SHL is a stronger league than the AHL:

That said, the smaller ice is going to be an adjustment for Lekkerimaki. Quicker decision making required.

 

[LemonSauceD]

Per 2021's NHLe, the SHL is a stronger league than the AHL:

View attachment 843042

That said, the smaller ice is going to be an adjustment for Lekkerimaki. Quicker decision making required.

Was this just for 2021? Also what variables did they use? If it’s just for prospects then that’s a whole different discussion. Not really the best metric to use when measuring the entire skill level of the league.

there’s also a significant amount of 17-20 year olds that play in the KHL/SHL/Liiga/Czech than the AHL. Every team has at least 2-3 U20’ers playing for them. I’m going to go ahead and assume that graph took U22’s of all of those leagues and averaged out the NHLe among them.

that graph also doesn’t account for whether the league is a higher scoring league or not.

You can definitely make a case that the SHL more or less is about the same or better than the AHL. However going with this graph, I have a hard time believing the Czech league is better than the SHL and the Liiga (with the recent 15 team expansion that has diluted talent considerably) and the NLA (high offense no defense league) is better than the AHL. Especially when you consider many AHL’ers go over to these leagues and produce considerably more.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

My concern is how he will adjust to the bright lights, big city aspect of Abbotsford. Temptations abound for a young man with means.

gotta keep the kid away from the airshow for sure