Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet Shares What He Truly Thinks of Jonathan Lekkerimaki after 5 NHL Games

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Cooper Godin
November 22, 2024 (10:35)

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Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet shared his thoughts recently on how Jonathan Lekkerimaki's first five games in the National Hockey League went.

Prior to heading out on their road trip yesterday, the Vancouver Canucks decided to send top prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki down to the American Hockey League's Abbotsford Canucks and called up Max Sasson.

Assigning Jonathan Lekkermaki to the American Hockey League caught some people by surprise, especially with the uncertainty surrounding Brock Boeser and when he could return, along with J.T. Miller being out after taking a leave of absence for personal reasons.

Jonathan Lekkerimaki appeared in five games during his first stint in the National Hockey League and Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet recently shared his thoughts on how he felt that went for the 20-year-old Swede.

Rick Tocchet shares his thoughts on how Jonathan Lekkerimaki's first NHL stint went

At practice on Wednesday, Jeff Paterson of Rink Wide: Vancouver asked Rick Tocchet for his thoughts on Jonathan Lekkerimaki's first stint in the league.

Tocchet said that they threw lots of different situations at Jonathan Lekkerimaki and that his play off the puck has improved quite a bit, but they want to see more instinctually in the offensive zone.

"Yeah, I think we threw a lot at him. I think, whether he stays up or not, we can't be afraid to make sure that we develop him properly. I think his play without the puck has got better defensively. Now he's got to be more instinctual in the offensive end. I think he's a shooter, sometimes shooters just want to shoot and they just kind of stand around. I think he can be a little more involved in the offense, going into certain spots, maybe getting to the net, maybe being a bumper play, maying going behind the net. He can do other things and I think sometimes he just wants to be a shooter and I think that's probably the next level for him, but he's obviously a talented kid." Tocchet said.

Going down to the American Hockey League isn't a bad thing for Jonathan Lekkerimaki either, as he looks to continue his development and learn more during his first season of professional hockey here in North America.

There's no doubt that the Tullinge, Sweden native will be back up in the National Hockey League at some point this season, hopefully sooner rather than later if he's able to continue his strong play in Abbotsford.