<p>The Jonathan Lekkerimäki bounce-back campaign is in full swing.</p>
<p>After a disappointing campaign following the Canucks selecting him 15th overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Lekkerimäki showed well in the Allsvenskan playoffs and more recently, in the SHL preseason with his new club Örebro. It appears those performances were a sign of what was to come, as Lekkerimäki has now scored in each of his first two regular season SHL games.</p>
<p>Both of Lekkerimäki&#8217;s goals have come on the power play, and from a similar spot.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s his first goal from game one:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jonathan Lekkerimaki fires home his first of the SHL Season on the powerplay. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> <a href="https://t.co/3oZBx5mDad">pic.twitter.com/3oZBx5mDad</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Dave Hall (@hall1289) <a href="https://twitter.com/hall1289/status/1702382759589847158?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 14, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Lekkerimäki&#8217;s second goal on the year couldn&#8217;t have come at a better time. With his team down by a goal with just over 13 minutes left in the third period, Lekkerimäki let go of a perfectly placed one-timer that tied things up and eventually sent the game to overtime.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">He&#39;s done it again. </p>
<p>Make that two powerplay goals in back-to-back games for Jonathan Lekkerimaki. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> <a href="https://t.co/SiHnWUqBsv">pic.twitter.com/SiHnWUqBsv</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Dave Hall (@hall1289) <a href="https://twitter.com/hall1289/status/1703104840401076248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Not only is Lekkerimäki putting up goals, he&#8217;s doing the right things away from the puck, which is what we outlined for him a week or two a go in our &#8220;<a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/prospect-developing-season-forwards-canucks">Each Vancouver Canucks forward prospect’s top development priority for the 2023-24 season&#8221; article.</a></p>
<p>An excellent sign for Canucks fans is that on top of scoring on the power play in this game, Örebro&#8217;s coaching staff trusted Lekkerimäki to be out in the final minute of overtime as they looked to close out the game. A shootout was needed and it was there that Lekkerimäki made good on his attempt, another good sign for Canucks fans hoping for a bounce back from the Canucks&#8217; 2022 first round pick.</p>
<p>Here is what Faber wrote when talking about Lekkerimäki prior to the season starting, and what we&#8217;ll be keeping a close eye on when it comes to Lekkerimäki&#8217;s development this season:</p>
<blockquote>
<div class="mb-5">&#8220;After a shaky season as an 18-year-old, Jonathan Lekkerimäki will need to continue to add muscle and be tougher on the puck or in board battles. He cannot continue to be pushed off the puck in Sweden and hope to be able to come to North America and have success.</div>
<div></div>
<div class="mb-5">We’ve seen Lekkerimäki look strong in his SHL preseason games but the regular season is going to crank up to 100 real quick. He will need to continue going to the dangerous parts of the ice in search of offence and use his good positioning to find loose pucks around the crease or create easy tap-ins for his teammates with his quick decision-making in the offensive zone. There’s a ton of potential here but development is just so key for Lekkerimäki.&#8221;</div>
</blockquote>
<div>So far, so good.</div>


The Jonathan Lekkerimäki bounce-back campaign is in full swing.

After a disappointing campaign following the Canucks selecting him 15th overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Lekkerimäki showed well in the Allsvenskan playoffs and more recently, in the SHL preseason with his new club Örebro. It appears those performances were a sign of what was to come, as Lekkerimäki has now scored in each of his first two regular season SHL games.

Both of Lekkerimäki's goals have come on the power play, and from a similar spot.

Here's his first goal from game one:

https://twitter.com/hall1289/status/1702382759589847158

Lekkerimäki's second goal on the year couldn't have come at a better time. With his team down by a goal with just over 13 minutes left in the third period, Lekkerimäki let go of a perfectly placed one-timer that tied things up and eventually sent the game to overtime.

https://twitter.com/hall1289/status/1703104840401076248

Not only is Lekkerimäki putting up goals, he's doing the right things away from the puck, which is what we outlined for him a week or two a go in our "<a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/prospect-developing-season-forwards-canucks">Each Vancouver Canucks forward prospect’s top development priority for the 2023-24 season" article.</a>

An excellent sign for Canucks fans is that on top of scoring on the power play in this game, Örebro's coaching staff trusted Lekkerimäki to be out in the final minute of overtime as they looked to close out the game. A shootout was needed and it was there that Lekkerimäki made good on his attempt, another good sign for Canucks fans hoping for a bounce back from the Canucks' 2022 first round pick.

Here is what Faber wrote when talking about Lekkerimäki prior to the season starting, and what we'll be keeping a close eye on when it comes to Lekkerimäki's development this season:
<blockquote>
<div class="mb-5">"After a shaky season as an 18-year-old, Jonathan Lekkerimäki will need to continue to add muscle and be tougher on the puck or in board battles. He cannot continue to be pushed off the puck in Sweden and hope to be able to come to North America and have success.</div>
<div></div>
<div class="mb-5">We’ve seen Lekkerimäki look strong in his SHL preseason games but the regular season is going to crank up to 100 real quick. He will need to continue going to the dangerous parts of the ice in search of offence and use his good positioning to find loose pucks around the crease or create easy tap-ins for his teammates with his quick decision-making in the offensive zone. There’s a ton of potential here but development is just so key for Lekkerimäki."</div></blockquote>
<div>So far, so good.</div>

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