Jonathan Lekkerimäki may team up with fellow Canucks prospect Elias Pettersson in the SHL

It may get a whole heck of a lot easier to follow two of the Vancouver Canucks’ top prospects next season.

According to CanucksArmy’s own Chris Faber, Jonathan Lekkerimäki has at least three SHL teams interested in bringing him onto their roster on loan next season.

Among those clubs is Örebro, the club that Canucks defence prospect Elias Pettersson is currently a member of. Pettersson, who the Canucks selected in the third round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, took a major step in his development last season and showed he’s capable of defending against the best of the best in Sweden.

Lekkerimäki, on the other hand, couldn’t have had a more frustrating and disappointing D+1 season if he tried. Playing in the second tier Allsvenskan league, the Canucks’ 2022 first round pick struggled to do much of anything, as the normally high-scoring winger tallied just three goals and six assists through 29 regular season games. He was also ineffective at the World Juniors, where he ended the tournament skating as Sweden’s 13th forward after some poor play in the games prior.

By the end of the year, Lekkerimäki began to show signs of putting his game back together, and this was capped off by a very impressive 15 points in 15 Allsvenskan playoff games. Lekkerimaki’s Djurgardens squad came up just short of their goal of promotion to the SHL when they fell to Modo. Shortly after this playoff run, the Canucks rewarded Lekkerimäki with an entry-level contract.

As such, the Canucks have some more control over where Lekkerimäki plays next season. He’s not going to come to North America, instead, the Canucks will work with Lekkerimäki to find a team that he’s comfortable being loaned to in the SHL.

Faber believes that Leksands, Färjestad, and Skellefteå are also among the clubs vying for Lekkerimäki’s services next season. It will certainly be interesting to see where the Canucks’ top prospect ends up next season, and if he joins his potential future Canucks teammate in Örebro.