LATEST | Lekkerimaki picks up where he left off: Shines in debut with his new club
2023 has been a bit of a wild ride for Vancouver Canucks prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki. He dealt with a foot injury while in HockeyAllsvenskan with Djurgardens IF, which was originally supposed to keep him out for the remainder of the season, but he was able to return.
Upon his return, the 19-year-old broke out in the playoffs and was a point-per-game player, putting up 15 points (five goals, ten assists) in 15 games, helping Djurgardens IF reach the finals, where they lost in seven games to Modo, who were promoted to the SHL.
Then in May, the Canucks decided to sign Lekkerimaki to his three-year, entry-level contract and loaned him back to Sweden, where he'll be suiting up in the Swedish Hockey League, the country's top division, with Orebro HK.
Earlier this week, Lekkermaki suited up for Orebro HK for the first time in the team's first game of the pre-season and he made an immediate impact.
At the half-way point of the second period, Lekkerimaki received a back pass inside the opposing team's blue line, skated toward the middle of the offensive zone and as soon as he gets to the hash marks, he fires the puck past the HC Vita Hasten goaltender to give Orebro HK a 2-0 lead.
Then a couple of minutes later, another Canucks prospect, defenceman Elias Pettersson, got involved in the action. Pettersson had the puck at the top of the offensive zone and fired a clean tape-to-tape pass to his teammate at the side of the HC Vita Hasten net, who put it home to extend Orebro HK's lead to 3-0.
Canucks fans have plenty to look forward to this season with Lekkerimaki and Pettersson playing on the same team and there should be plenty of highlights to come throughout the 2023-24 campagin!
| POLL | ||
Which prospect are you most excited about? | ||
| Jonathan Lekkerimaki | 191 | 21.3 % |
| Elias Pettersson | 238 | 26.6 % |
| Both | 391 | 43.7 % |
| See Results | 75 | 8.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
