On a night where the Vancouver Canucks gave fans very little to cheer for on the ice — losing 6-3 to the Los Angeles Kings and surrendering valuable runway to the Edmonton Oilers in the race to claim the Pacific Division — there was still a bit of a silver lining: Jonathan Lekkerimaki scored his first AHL goal.
The 2022 first-round pick for the Canucks potted his first goal, and first point, for the Abbotsford Canucks in the third period of Saturday's game against the Calgary Wranglers. Off the feed from Christain Wolanin, Lekkerimaki skated the puck into the slot and showed off his world-class wrister, beating the goalie clean on the glove side.
Though Calgary would tie the game and eventually win it in overtime, it's a sigh-of-relief moment for the 19-year-old, who recently made the jump to North America after spending the past two post-draft years with his Swedish club.
Lekkerimaki is one third of a strong Swedish prospect contingent for the Canucks — rounded out by defencemen Elias Pettersson (drafted in 2022) and Tom Willander (drafted in 2023). The trio won a silver medal at the 2024 World Juniors with Sweden and Lekkerimaki was named tournament MVP.
Though Willander is still playing in the NCAA for Boston University, Pettersson and Lekkerimaki are settled in with Abbotsford and will continue to develop until they're ready to join the big club.
Until then, the young Canucks have secured an AHL playoff berth, so there will be plenty of time for Lekkerimaki and Pettersson to get the reps in before training camp in the fall.
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