Abbotsford Canucks fans will likely be seeing highly touted prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki in green, blue and white later this season.
Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin was asked by TSN reporter Kenzie Lalone earlier this week about the timeline of the 2022 first round draft pick and he said he expects to see him in Abbotsford.
“Once the [Swedish Hockey League] season is over we hope he is going to be on Abbotsford and we take it from there,” he said.
Allvin added he was pleased with Lekkerimäki’s most recent off season and has had a good season playing against men with Örebro HK in the SHL, which is considered the top hockey league in Sweden. He is also looking forward to seeing how the 19-year-old looks at Canucks training camp later this year.
Lekkerimäki was recently on loan from Örebro HK and represened Sweden at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship. He collected 10 points (seven goals and three assists) in seven games at the tournament and was named both the tournament’s most valuable player and a tournament all-star.
Lekkerimäki scored two goals for Sweden to help them defeat Czechia 5-2 in the tournament semifinal on Thursday (Jan. 4). Sweden ultimately lost to the United States 6-2 in the gold medal game on Friday (Jan. 5). That was the lone regulation loss that Sweden suffered at the event, as they went 3-0-1 in group play and then beat Switzerland in the quarter-finals.
Another goal for Jonathan Lekkerimäki, and the Swedes are pulling away with this one! 🚨🚨
— 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀 Faber 🔥 (@ChrisFaber39) January 4, 2024
📹: IIHF pic.twitter.com/iZXJxOYZ4m
Lekkerimäki has 10 goals and 16 points in 24 games this season in the SHL. Örebro HK sits in 11th place in the SHL standings and the playoffs see the top 10 teams qualify. The SHL regular season ends on March 11 and playoffs begin shortly after.
The Abbotsford Canucks have 16 games after March 11 and 10 of those are home games. It’s also likely that the Canucks will qualify for the AHL playoffs, which occur near the end of April and Lekkerimäki would be eligible to play in those as well.