WATCH: Canucks prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki scores his SHL-leading 7th goal of the season

The kid just keeps on doing it.

Jonathan Lekkerimäki is simply a different player this season and with another goal early Saturday, he now has a tie for the SHL lead in goals through the first month of the season.

We woke up early to watch the Vancouver Canucks’ 2022 first-round pick and thought we were only going to get this little hit as a clip to highlight.

Instead, Lekkerimäki scored a goal early in the third period to give his team a 2-1 lead.

This was one of Lekkerimäki’s prettiest goals of the season — and it wasn’t just because he scored it in pink — as he worked to gain space with excellent four-way mobility in the offensive zone. He worked to find an open part of the ice and then showed off his hands with his head up as he worked his way into the slot and then absolutely ripped a wrist shot just under the crossbar and into the back of the net.

Lekkerimäki has been playing on Örebro’s first line for a couple of weeks now, and with that, seeing his ice time rise. The team is using him a ton in the third period whether they are winning, losing or tied. He’s been trusted in all three of those situations and continues to produce when his team needs him most. We saw him getting time with two minutes remaining in the game and his team holding onto a one-goal lead — that was very promising for how he is gaining trust from his coach not just in offensive situations but how he is playing defensively as well.

We’re not done with the offence in this game, either. In the first period, Lekkerimäki picked up an assist after streaking down the left wing and firing a puck across the zone to find Robert Leino, who scored from a sharp angle.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…

This feels like we are watching a different player from last season.

Lekkerimäki is oozing with confidence and it’s showing up in his offensive production along with his play on the boards and in his own zone. The 19-year-old Swede is doing everything right and this past month has set Lekkerimäki up for one hell of a comeback season that has us all excited about his future.

He is now up to eight goals and three assists through 12 games — giving him a four-point lead on the next closest U20 player in the SHL.

Another thing we are very excited about is how Lekkerimäki will look at this upcoming World Junior Championships. His home country of Sweden is the host and we don’t see anyone challenging him for the top-line right winger spot. You can expect Lekkerimäki to be a big points producer at the WJC this December and be dominant on the power play.

This season is becoming a career year for Lekkerimäki and we’re happy to bring you along on the ride here at CanucksArmy.