Jonathan Lekkerimäki officially joins Örebro to team up with Elias Pettersson

Watching Vancouver Canucks prospects overseas just got a heck of a lot easier.

And that’s because next season, two of the organization’s best prospects will be playing on the same team in the Swedish Hockey League.

Jonathan Lekkerimäki has officially joined Örebro of the SHL on loan, meaning he’ll be joining forces with fellow Canucks prospect, defenceman Elias Pettersson. Both were selected by Vancouver in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft — Lekkerimäki in the first round at 15th overall, and Pettersson in the third round at 80th overall.

Lekkerimäki struggled with mono, as well as multiple injuries in his draft-plus-one season. He then turned it up big time in the playoffs and put up 15 points in as many games. That was in the Allsvenskan, Sweden’s second tier professional league.

Here’s what Lekkerimäki said about the move to Örebro, translated from Swedish:

“First of all, I am determined to come to Örebro. It will be fun to play in the SHL and be part of a strong team. I have received a good impression from all the leaders and coaches I have met and I will have all the conditions to take the next step in my career”

The Canucks recently signed Lekkerimäki to a three-year entry level contract, and will be loaning him to Örebro.

“We are incredibly happy to be able to welcome Jonathan,” said Örebro GM Niklas Eriksson. “He is a top player in his age group and Jonathan has enormous potential. We are bringing in an offensively skilled player who will be involved and make a difference going forward and the fact that we can add another right-handed shooter has been important to us. It’s great that Jonathan chooses to come to us to take the next step in his career and we look forward to working with Jonathan in our environment.”

You can follow along with both Lekkerimäki and Pettersson’s seasons all year long here at CanucksArmy.