Lekkerimäki is a pure Swedish goal scorer.
The first round of the 2022 NHL Incoming Draft was wild.
Consensus number one selection, Shane Wright, turned out not to be consensus at all, and fell to fourth place overall. The Montreal Canadiens headed in and dealt with the New York Islanders to add Kirby Dach to the Chicago Blackhawks. The San Jose Sharks dropped from 11th place overall by three picks.
It was rumored that the Vancouver Canucks were involved in a possible trade with the Islanders before making a deal with the Canadians, but it never came to fruition. Instead, the Canucks stayed right where they started, in 15th overall.
With the selection, the Canucks selected Jonathan Lekkerimäki.
“We were excited for him to fall.”
Lekkerimäki is an elite right-back for Djurgårdens IF in Sweden, who split his time last season between J20 Nationell and SHL. At Nationell, Lekkerimäki dominated, scoring 20 goals and 35 points in just 26 games, just behind teammate Liam Öhgren in points per game.
The difference between Lekkerimäki and Öhgren is that Lekkerimäki produced in the SHL, scoring 7 goals in 26 games.
Bob McKenzie and International Scouting Services ranked Lekkerimäki 8th overall, with most public rankings expecting it to be one of the top 10. Consequently, it was a surprise when he fell to the Canucks in the 15th.
“We had it a little more valued and we were excited for it to fall,” Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said.
Lekkerimäki is still just 17 and will turn 18 later this month, giving him a longer development track than some of the older players in the draft. This will give him time to add more strength to his 5’11 ”box, which is one of the criticisms of his game. He is expected to play in HockeyAllsvenskan next season, Sweden’s second tier men’s league.
“A lot of these younger players need to be stronger,” Allvin said. “He is a skilled and intelligent player, who plays professionally this year. There is no rush with us to overcome him.”
“It has one of the fastest releases in the entire draft.”
Lekkerimäki can score the way you want, with a variety of shooting options that are all NHL caliber.
“Capture and release, a stopwatch, a wrist blow, a snapshot, a slap: Lekkerimäki has the tool for any occasion, and they are all already high-end in the elite even according to the NHL standards, ”says its Elite Prospects exploration report. “You see him shoot at the record, and it’s obviously perfect.”
Like most great scorers, Lekkerimäki is adept at adding a bit of deception before shooting: simulating freezing a defender or goalkeeper, throwing the puck on his skates to change the angle, or pushing the puck wide, a more unexpected move to to the porters.
“It has one of the fastest releases in all of this year’s draft,” Will Scouching said. “The discs touch your stick and it doesn’t take long to change the angle and remove the disc from your stick.”
The disc simply comes out of Lekkerimäki’s post in a moment and has the speed and accuracy to beat goalkeepers from distance, but it’s not his only offensive weapon. He also has smooth hands, which he can use to strip goalkeepers tightly or cross opponents to reach goal areas in the middle of the ice.
“It has a smooth, fluid step.”
An important factor is that Lekkerimäki is adept at handling the disc at high speed: he does not fall to the shore when making moves, but he can combine his varied skating with the disc in his hip pocket.
“He has a smooth, fluid step that takes him quickly through all three areas of the ice, and as his speed increases, his skill remains at a high level,” says his Draft Pro exploration report. Hockey. “He’s able to carry the record at full speed, forcing the opposition to back down quickly, giving him time and space to create chances.”
This makes it a dangerous threat in the transition. As you add strength, your skating should also improve, as you could use a little more speed.
On top of all that, Lekkerimäki has decent vision and a playing ability for a player who is apparently a sniper. His handling of the puck allows him to cling to the puck until he can find the best pass option, often turning below the goal line before putting the puck in the slot to have a great chance.
Lekkerimäki showed more of that playing side of his game at the 2022 Under-18 World Championships, where he led the tournament in scoring with 5 goals and 10 assists in 6 games, winning the gold medal with Sweden.
Areas where Lekkerimäki needs to improve
Offensively, the biggest question for Lekkerimäki is whether he will be able to get inside regularly to use his shot. Some of his off-the-record habits are a bit crude: he doesn’t always get to the soft points of the ice at the right time for his teammates to find him with the record. Before Lekkerimäki can score goals regularly in the NHL, he has to adjust his game away from the puck, because these soft ice pockets are smaller and harder to find.
There are also some concerns about the defensive side of the ice, as he fights in disc battles and isn’t always as committed to the defensive zone as he should be. This is not uncommon for a goal-scoring winger, of course, and his ability to make the transition from disc to ice will help him boost possession, even if he doesn’t win any Selke Trophies.
With his handles and his shot, Lekkerimäki could rack up enough goals no matter how he plays defensively, but he will have room to develop that side of his game before he reaches the NHL.
Lekkerimäki is an incredibly exciting player for Canucks fans to watch his development, as he will be producing outstanding games over the next few years.
It’s hard to score goals in the NHL: Lekkerimäki has the potential to make it seem very easy.