Training Camp is where opportunities are made. But it’s also a place where opportunities are made the most of.
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Top Vancouver Canucks prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki has a chance to fall into the latter category. After a dazzling draft+2 season in the SHL and a standout performance in the Penticton Young Stars Classic, Lekkerimäki came into the Canucks’ main camp in a pretty plum – skating on a line with Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk.
And he’s since stayed there long enough to reach the exhibition schedule, though he made his preseason debut without them on Tuesday.
As far as head coach Rick Tocchet’s praise would indicate, this is an opportunity that the organization feels Lekkerimäki has earned. Or, at the very least, an opportunity that his high level of skill has afforded him.
But is it an ‘opportunity’ in the sense that Lekkerimäki is being allowed to fully show his stuff in a top-flite offensive deployment before being inevitably sent back down to Abbotsford to complete his rookie North American pro campaign? Or is Lekkerimäki being given a legitimate shot at keeping that top-six spot all the way into the 2023/24 regular season?
Only time will tell. But the longer he remains in that spot, the more likely it is that he’s got a real chance.
Which would, in turn, raise some important questions that need to be answered.
We’ve already discussed the prospect of Lekkerimäki ‘making’ the team a couple of times this preseason, but that’s mostly been chatter about opening day rosters.
His making the team outright, and sticking there, is a different situation altogether.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be that complicated. The uncertain status of Dakota Joshua, still recovering from an offseason procedure to address testicular cancer, could open a bit of a door onto the roster for Lekkerimäki or any other forward seeking a short-term audition. In this case, someone like Lekkerimäki just holds down Joshua’s spot until Joshua returns.
If it’s Lekkerimäki, and he stays with Pettersson and DeBrusk, it’ll probably look something like this:
Lekkerimäki rolls with Pettersson and DeBrusk.
Danton Heinen, JT Miller, and Brock Boeser form the other half of the top-six.
Someone else who was in the running for that top line job, like Nils Höglander, slides down onto the third line to cover Joshua’s spot, with Conor Garland and one of Pius Suter or Teddy Blueger.
Then, when Joshua returns, another assessment can be made about how well Lekkerimäki is performing in that role. If he’s doing well, he stays and the team figures it out from there. If not, it’s back to Abbotsford and someone else gets a shot at the top-six.
But that’s only a valid scenario if Joshua misses considerable time. What about if he doesn’t, and Lekkerimäki still shows well enough in exhibition to stay on the Pettersson line for the foreseeable future?
That could certainly lead to a crowding in the Canucks’ forward corps. But it could also be a very good problem to have.
Let’s assume, again, that the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/canucks-boeser-miller-chemistry-heinen-training-camp">Heinen-Miller-Boeser line is sticking</a>, and that Joshua and Garland will once again partner up around a centre, presumably either Suter or Blueger. Keep Lekkerimäki with Pettersson and DeBrusk, and suddenly you’ve got a pretty clear-cut top-nine:
DeBrusk-Pettersson-Lekkerimäki 
Heinen-Miller-Boeser
Joshua-Suter/Blueger-Garland
…which, assuming that Lekkerimäki has indeed played well enough to force the Canucks to keep him in that spot, definitely has the makings of a very strong unit of forwards.
It also leaves whichever of Suter or Blueger is left over to centre a fourth line that suddenly has an abundance of options. If we assume that Kiefer Sherwood is essentially locked into one of the fourth line wings, this setup would give Tocchet and Co.  the options of Höglander or Daniel Sprong in that spot if skill was desired, or someone like Phil di Giuseppe or Nils Åman if steadiness was more what they were looking for.
For our money, it’d be hard to deny Höglander at least a spot in the lineup, so it’d be his wing to lose. In that case, the Canucks would have to choose between Sprong, Di Giuseppe, or Åman as the extra forward, and the rest would be waived down to Abbotsford.
One definitely questions whether a fourth line deployment is the best use of a talent like Höglander or Sprong. But on that front, we’d note that injuries are inevitable, and that each player would eventually receive opportunities to move up the lineup. We’d also have to note that those two, in particular, have a penchant for putting up big numbers in limited minutes. Last year, Höglander scored more in the bottom-six than he did in the top-six. And over the last two seasons, Sprong has scored 21 and 18 goals while averaged 11:25 and 12:00 in ice-time, respectively.
Waiving someone like Åman isn’t ideal, as some believe he might yet grow at the NHL level. But that potential pales in comparison to that of Lekkerimäki, and to the desire to start making the most of that potential as early as Lekkerimäki proves ready.
So, speaking of potential, there’s definitely some potential here for a very well-oiled machine, top-to-bottom, and a forward corps that ‘works’ with Lekkerimäki as a part of it.
It all hinges, of course, on Lekkerimäki actually claiming the spot. To do so, he has to essentially look as though he’s the team’s singular best option there. If he’s even comparable in that role to the likes of Sprong or Höglander, they’ll get it over him, because Lekkerimäki can still be demoted to Abbotsford without waivers and still ostensibly has a lot to learn down there. The odds are not in his favour necessarily.
But he hasn’t been knocked out of the spot yet, heading into exhibition games. And if he can start putting some actual NHL (preseason) goals and points on the board while riding shotgun with Pettersson and DeBrusk, then perhaps the future in Vancouver is indeed now.
Wouldn’t that be something?
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Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Aatu Räty, and Arshdeep Bains during the Vancouver Canucks' 2-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers at the 2024 Young Stars Classic from Penticton, BC.

Training Camp is where opportunities are made. But it’s also a place where opportunities are made the most of.
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Top Vancouver Canucks prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki has a chance to fall into the latter category. After a dazzling draft+2 season in the SHL and a standout performance in the Penticton Young Stars Classic, Lekkerimäki came into the Canucks’ main camp in a pretty plum – skating on a line with Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk.

And he’s since stayed there long enough to reach the exhibition schedule, though he made his preseason debut without them on Tuesday.

As far as head coach Rick Tocchet’s praise would indicate, this is an opportunity that the organization feels Lekkerimäki has earned. Or, at the very least, an opportunity that his high level of skill has afforded him.

But is it an ‘opportunity’ in the sense that Lekkerimäki is being allowed to fully show his stuff in a top-flite offensive deployment before being inevitably sent back down to Abbotsford to complete his rookie North American pro campaign? Or is Lekkerimäki being given a legitimate shot at keeping that top-six spot all the way into the 2023/24 regular season?

Only time will tell. But the longer he remains in that spot, the more likely it is that he’s got a real chance.

Which would, in turn, raise some important questions that need to be answered.

We’ve already discussed the prospect of Lekkerimäki ‘making’ the team a couple of times this preseason, but that’s mostly been chatter about opening day rosters.

His making the team outright, and sticking there, is a different situation altogether.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be that complicated. The uncertain status of Dakota Joshua, still recovering from an offseason procedure to address testicular cancer, could open a bit of a door onto the roster for Lekkerimäki or any other forward seeking a short-term audition. In this case, someone like Lekkerimäki just holds down Joshua’s spot until Joshua returns.

If it’s Lekkerimäki, and he stays with Pettersson and DeBrusk, it’ll probably look something like this:

Lekkerimäki rolls with Pettersson and DeBrusk.

Danton Heinen, JT Miller, and Brock Boeser form the other half of the top-six.

Someone else who was in the running for that top line job, like Nils Höglander, slides down onto the third line to cover Joshua’s spot, with Conor Garland and one of Pius Suter or Teddy Blueger.

Then, when Joshua returns, another assessment can be made about how well Lekkerimäki is performing in that role. If he’s doing well, he stays and the team figures it out from there. If not, it’s back to Abbotsford and someone else gets a shot at the top-six.

But that’s only a valid scenario if Joshua misses considerable time. What about if he doesn’t, and Lekkerimäki still shows well enough in exhibition to stay on the Pettersson line for the foreseeable future?

That could certainly lead to a crowding in the Canucks’ forward corps. But it could also be a very good problem to have.

Let’s assume, again, that the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/canucks-boeser-miller-chemistry-heinen-training-camp">Heinen-Miller-Boeser line is sticking</a>, and that Joshua and Garland will once again partner up around a centre, presumably either Suter or Blueger. Keep Lekkerimäki with Pettersson and DeBrusk, and suddenly you’ve got a pretty clear-cut top-nine:

DeBrusk-Pettersson-Lekkerimäki 

Heinen-Miller-Boeser

Joshua-Suter/Blueger-Garland

…which, assuming that Lekkerimäki has indeed played well enough to force the Canucks to keep him in that spot, definitely has the makings of a very strong unit of forwards.

It also leaves whichever of Suter or Blueger is left over to centre a fourth line that suddenly has an abundance of options. If we assume that Kiefer Sherwood is essentially locked into one of the fourth line wings, this setup would give Tocchet and Co.  the options of Höglander or Daniel Sprong in that spot if skill was desired, or someone like Phil di Giuseppe or Nils Åman if steadiness was more what they were looking for.

For our money, it’d be hard to deny Höglander at least a spot in the lineup, so it’d be his wing to lose. In that case, the Canucks would have to choose between Sprong, Di Giuseppe, or Åman as the extra forward, and the rest would be waived down to Abbotsford.

One definitely questions whether a fourth line deployment is the best use of a talent like Höglander or Sprong. But on that front, we’d note that injuries are inevitable, and that each player would eventually receive opportunities to move up the lineup. We’d also have to note that those two, in particular, have a penchant for putting up big numbers in limited minutes. Last year, Höglander scored more in the bottom-six than he did in the top-six. And over the last two seasons, Sprong has scored 21 and 18 goals while averaged 11:25 and 12:00 in ice-time, respectively.

Waiving someone like Åman isn’t ideal, as some believe he might yet grow at the NHL level. But that potential pales in comparison to that of Lekkerimäki, and to the desire to start making the most of that potential as early as Lekkerimäki proves ready.

So, speaking of potential, there’s definitely some potential here for a very well-oiled machine, top-to-bottom, and a forward corps that ‘works’ with Lekkerimäki as a part of it.

It all hinges, of course, on Lekkerimäki actually claiming the spot. To do so, he has to essentially look as though he’s the team’s singular best option there. If he’s even comparable in that role to the likes of Sprong or Höglander, they’ll get it over him, because Lekkerimäki can still be demoted to Abbotsford without waivers and still ostensibly has a lot to learn down there. The odds are not in his favour necessarily.

But he hasn’t been knocked out of the spot yet, heading into exhibition games. And if he can start putting some actual NHL (preseason) goals and points on the board while riding shotgun with Pettersson and DeBrusk, then perhaps the future in Vancouver is indeed now.

Wouldn’t that be something?

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