The Vancouver Canucks Prospect Showcase roster got its first practice session on Thursday morning in Abbotsford. Following the practice, CanucksArmy met with Jonathan Lekkerimäki to discuss last year’s Calder Cup run, his offseason training and his outlook on the upcoming season.

Lekkerimäki started with his offseason, sharing that he spent most of his time back home in Stockholm, relaxing with family and friends. He later shared that, despite winning the Calder Cup, he did not get a day with it. The Swede mentioned that it was because it was too far to travel, just for one day.

During last season’s Calder Cup run, Lekkerimäki scored three goals and seven points. However, the young sniper only appeared in 16 of the Canucks’ 24 games. Although he did not play in every game, the 21-year-old was very grateful for the experience:

“It was a good lesson to see the team from the stands and when I was on the ice, especially to win in my first season over here [in North America]. It was a good experience.”

Three of the eight games Lekkerimäki missed were due to injury. There was no sign of injury, but he was seen wearing a bubble cage on his helmet, indicating a possible facial injury. Lekkerimäki shared that he had an infection in his wisdom teeth, and they had to be removed.

Following the injury, Lekkerimäki didn’t look like himself. He still managed to chip in five points over 10 games, but he was not shooting like the sniper Canucks fans saw in the regular season. Over that 10-game stretch, he averaged just 1.2 shots on goal per game – 2.2 shots on goal less than his regular season average. He was then a healthy scratch for Games 4, 5, and 6 of the Western Conference Final, as well as Games 1 and 2 of the Calder Cup Finals.

“Yeah, a little bit,” Lekkerimäki shared when asked if that injury affected his play. “But [next time] I have to come back stronger from that injury and then work harder after the injury.”

However, Lekkerimäki returned for Game 3, adding a pair of goals in Game 4, with four shots on goal.

While the experience of going through a winning Championship run is invaluable to players’ careers, it does shorten their summers. And for a 172-pound Lekkerimäki, that cuts into his time to bulk up for the following season. However, Lekkerimäki shared that he was still able to get everything he wanted to accomplish this offseason, and gave some insight into his training:

“I trained with a good group back in Sweden, William Eklund, Noah Ostlund. We did a lot of workouts, but not that much skating, but I tried to gain some weight. I tried to get bigger and stronger because the seasons so long, and you play so many games, especially [in North America].”

Having played 24 games in the NHL last season, Lekkerimäki has just as good of a chance as anybody to impress in camp and earn a spot on Vancouver’s roster. But how does Lekkerimäki see his role to get there?

“I want to be an offensive player, create some offence and score goals.”

But before training camp, Lekkerimäki has the opportunity to showcase his talents this weekend in Washington. In yesterday’s practice, he skated with Canucks most recent first-round pick, Braeden Cootes and fellow countryman Vilmer Alriksson. Lekkerimäki believes the trio will mesh well together.

“I’m excited to play with Cootes and Vilmer. Vilmer is big and strong and Cootes is smart. So, I think we will be a good line.”

With no news regarding whether the Showcase will be available to watch, make sure to tune into CanucksArmy for Dave Hall’s recap of the games.