Welcome back to CanucksArmy’s top 20 Vancouver Canucks prospect rankings. We’ve officially hit the top 10 of our rankings, and today, we focus on Melvin Fernström, the team’s first pick (93rd overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft.

For the third consecutive year, the Canucks turned to Sweden with their first pick of the draft. And for the second time — technically third if you count Elias Pettersson (D) — they plucked from the Örebro system. While he may not be as highly touted as previous selections, Melvin Fernström does offer some intriguing offensive punch.

The Bålsta Sweden native is a point producer in every sense of the word and has built up quite an impressive scoring resume over the past few years.

In 2022-23, he set the tone to lead the J18 Swedish league with 38 points (16 goals, 22 assists) and was a prominent fixture in his team, taking home a Gold Medal Championship with Örebro J18.

From there, he would extend his reach to all levels within the Örebro system, spending his draft-eligible year (2023-24) cycling through the U18, U20 and even SHL levels. However, most of his year was spent at the J20 Nationell, where he jumped out the gate incredibly strong and never looked back.

Propelled by a two-goal, three-point performance in his first match, Fernström would open the year with 20 points over his first 12 games. That kicked off a potent rookie season, finishing as the league’s top goalscorer with 31 tallies while adding 32 assists to finish third in scoring with 63 points — just two points shy of the league leader.

Historically, this production stacked up quite impressively relative to his age group (17) at the U20 level.

All-time (U18) goals/season:

All-time (U18) points/season:

Throughout the year, Fernström’s efforts earned him sporadic auditions at the top level, enjoying six — albeit with limited minutes — regular season SHL games. Although, as an extra forward, he never saw the ice in two of them.

Come playoffs, he split his time between the SHL, J20, and J18 circuits. With the J18 Örebro squad, he dominated en route to the team’s second consecutive Gold Medal finish, notching four goals and nine points across four games.

While playing at the J20 level, he finished third in scoring with 10 points (five goals, five assists), helping his team to a silver medal finish.

He also suited up in all three of the SHL club’s first-round playoff matches, sharing the bench with Jonathan Lekkerimäki. There, he played sheltered minutes —  never seeing over 12 minutes of ice time — and was handed a five-minute major and ejection in their elimination game. He may not have contributed to the scoresheet, but the opportunity as a third-line option is an encouraging development for an 18-year-old.

Finally, Fernström wrapped up his busy year by co-leading his Swedish team at the U18 World Juniors, grabbing eight points (three goals, five assists) while carrying them to a Gold Medal finish — their second in as many years.

When all was said and done, the Swede appeared in 93 matches and contributed 108 points (53 goals, 55 assists) stretched between four levels of competition. He finished with two gold medals (one international and one club) and a runner-up silver.

Fernström is a natural point producer. His release isn’t deadly like Lekkerimäki’s, but he knows where to put it and has an excellent mind to position himself effectively to utilize it. He’s considered a dual-threat offender, equally adept at scoring goals and setting up teammates. His hockey IQ is strong, and he’s able to put himself in the right spot off the puck to initiate plays.

Canuck fans got to witness all of this firsthand during the team’s recent Development Camp. During the scrimmage, the newcomer wowed the crowd by contributing three assists, all of which required some crafty IQ and hands. A meaningless intrasquad game, perhaps, but it was a nice way to introduce himself to the fan base.

Fernström’s game does come equipped with some obvious caveats, and it’s often criticized as being ‘soft.’ He rarely engages in physical play, lacks motor, and is not particularly strong in board battles. In a nutshell, when you think of “Rick Tocchet Hockey,” his game is far from the spokesman.

While he’s able to produce at the junior level, there is concern about him being a passenger. Yes, he does a good job of putting himself into beneficial spots, but will that be the case at the pro level? So far, he has yet to showcase much promise as a prominent play driver.

While not terrible, his skating needs improvement and when that’s combined with a lack of physicality, there are certainly valid red flags when forecasting his transition to North American hockey.

With all that said, his knack for producing points combined with his mind continues to give him a strong upside. If he can grow into his body and develop a more physical brand, there is definite potential here.

Ceiling: Fernström carries an intriguing offensive package, and if everything goes perfectly to plan, he could carve out a top-six role in the future. It’s ambitious, but that’s what the Canucks were aiming for when they drafted his rights. He’s got the toolkit; now the team has to fill that with the rest of the tools.

Floor: There’s a world where the 18-year-old simply cannot add enough dimensions to his game, and he sticks to an SHL career. Based on current assessments from the scouting team, we anticipate that they would like to see him overseas to at least test him out at some point. But make no mistake about it; there is certainly risk with this pick.

ETA: Fernström recently signed a two-year extension with Örebro HK, so we expect him to play out the remaining term of his contract, at the very least. Even if he transitions from there, we expect to see him in the AHL for a couple of seasons as he adjusts his game. If everything goes according to plan, we could see him suit up in four to five years.