Vancouver Canucks Top Prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki Looking to Take Full Advantage of the Open Roster Spot
The Vancouver Canucks are expected to spend some time without one of their best forwards, after a dirty hit from Tanner Jeannot in Thursday's game against the Kings ended the night for the 27 year old sniper.
While it's not the circumstances the Canucks would hope for, the injury could give them an opportunity to give top prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki a look at the NHL level.
Lekkerimäki, the 15th overall pick from 2022, is a point per game player since returning from an early season illness, which is good enough to lead the Abbotsford Canucks despite being the single youngest player on the team.
Lekkerimäki scoring prowess is his biggest asset, and he'd be the logical choice to fill in for a goal scorer like Brock Boeser.
The youngster leads Abbotsford with 5 goals and has shown off his lethal shot and NHL level speed in his short AHL career so far.
Fellow top prospect Aatu Räty has already been recalled to the NHL, so the Canucks will likely be choosing between Lekkerimäki and Arshdeep Bains -who was recently re-assigned to Abbotsford- to help fill in for Boeser.
Boeser is near a point per game for the season, and is coming off the most productive season of his career where he netted 40 goals, so replacing him will be no easy task.
His injury could, however, give the team a chance to see what Lekkerimäki can do at the NHL level and if he proves he's ready, that's a good problem to have.
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