Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Jonathan Lekkerimaki

Canucks Assign Jonathan Lekkerimäki To AHL

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Canucks top forward prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki’s time in North America has begun. The Swedish winger is heading to British Columbia to join AHL Abbotsford for the remainder of the season, GM Patrik Allvin announced Monday.

The 19-year-old has remained in the Swedish professional circuit since the Canucks made him the 15th overall pick in the 2022 draft. Things didn’t start well for the highly-touted prospect, though. He had an underwhelming performance last season in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan, recording just three goals and nine points in 29 regular-season games for Djurgårdens IF, but exploded in the postseason with 15 points in 15 games as they lost the league final (and promotion back to the top-tier Swedish Hockey League) to Modo.

That was enough to convince Vancouver to sign Lekkerimäki to his three-year entry-level contract last summer, putting the team in some control of where he plays. Both sides decided it was best to keep him in Europe, but with Djurgårdens failing to gain promotion, the Canucks wanted to give him a change of scenery and a change to demonstrate what he could do in the top-flight SHL. Thus, he was assigned to Örebro HK, where exploded to finish as the team’s leading scorer with 19 goals and 31 points in 46 games. His season there ended early last week after Örebro was defeated by Luleå HF in their eighth-final playoff series. Örebro scored only twice in the three-game series, both coming in Game 1.

The Swedish youngster is already well-decorated internationally. He captured bronze and silver medals with Sweden at the 2022 and 2024 World Junior Championships, respectively. He also won gold at the U18 World Juniors in 2022 and a bronze medal at that season’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup. While the Swedes fell to the Americans at this year’s WJC, it was not the fault of Lekkerimäki, who led the tournament with seven goals in seven games and received MVP honors.

Lekkerimäki is expected to return to Sweden at the end of the AHL season and attempt to crack the national team’s roster for the upcoming 2024 World Championship, CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reports. It may be his last stint back home for a while, as the 5-foot-11 sniper will be under consideration for making Vancouver’s opening night roster in 2024-25.

West Notes: Myers, Lekkerimaki, Markstrom, Bjugstad

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Defenseman Tyler Myers is one of several Canucks veterans that are set to hit the open market in July and the team won’t be able to afford to keep all of them.  CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reports (audio link) that the veteran has told his agent that he’d like to remain with Vancouver.  The 34-year-old is in his fifth season with the Canucks and while his $6MM price point is above market value, he’s still logging important minutes, especially on the penalty kill where he ranks second in shorthanded ATOI.  While a $6MM contract isn’t likely coming his way this summer, Myers should still command interest from several teams on a multi-year deal which should help land him a contract somewhat close to that price tag.

More from the Western Conference:

  • Still with Vancouver, while Canucks fans were likely hoping that top prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki would join AHL Abbotsford for the stretch run, that might not be the case. In an interview with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription link), GM Patrik Allvin indicated that there is a possibility that the 19-year-old could play for Sweden at the Worlds in May.  In that case, they’d likely not bring Lekkerimaki to North America and let him vie for a spot on that team.  The 15th overall pick in 2022 had 31 points in 46 games with SHL Orebro this season.
  • Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom has missed the last week with a lower-body injury but it appears he won’t be out much longer. Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg relays (Twitter link) that the veteran netminder has resumed skating and a return to the lineup on Saturday versus Vancouver is possible.  The 34-year-old was featured prominently in trade speculation at the trade deadline thanks to a strong season that has seen him put up a 2.68 GAA and a .910 SV% in 41 games so far.
  • Coyotes center Nick Bjugstad is listed as day-to-day and his availability for Wednesday’s game against Dallas is uncertain, notes team reporter Patrick Brown (Twitter link). The 31-year-old has done well in his second stint in Arizona this season, collecting 17 goals along with 20 assists in 67 games so far.  The uncertainty over his availability is what resulted in Nathan Smith’s recall earlier today.

International Check-In: Lindbom, Lekkerimaki, KHL Scoring Leaders, Michkov

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Top international leagues such as those in Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, and Russia often play a crucial role in NHL player development, but many of those storylines don’t get much coverage outside of teams’ local media. PHR is aiming to change that by shining a light this season on some notable stats and trends concerning NHL-affiliated talent suiting up overseas this season, keeping tabs on some potential future stars.

Vegas Golden Knights 2021 seventh-round pick Carl Lindbom has seen a sharp rise in stock since draft day, and his start to the 2023-24 campaign can only be described as meteoric. The 20-year-old netminder is on loan from Vegas to SHL club Färjestad BK this season after signing his entry-level contract earlier in the summer, and he’s stolen the starting role from overseas veteran (and former Golden Knight) Maxime Lagace thanks to a strong pre-season showing, posting a 2-0-0 record and .936 save percentage in two Champions Hockey League tournament appearances earlier this month. That translated into Lindbom getting the start for Färjestad in their first two games of the SHL league calendar, conceding just one goal in each of their games against Växjö and Skellefteå en route to a 2-0 start to the season with a .952 save percentage to back things up.

Sticking in Sweden, many watchful eyes will be on Vancouver Canucks 2022 first-round pick Jonathan Lekkerimäki after an inconsistent 2022-23 campaign. He’s on loan from Vancouver to the SHL’s Örebro HK this year after spending last season in the second-tier Allsvenskan, and he looks like he’s fitting right in to start the year. Assuming a top-six role out of the gate, the right winger has two goals through his first two outings, both coming on the power play.

Moving over to Russia, it’s been a strong start to the season for three players with NHL ties: Nikita Gusev, Ivan Morozov and Nikolay Goldobin, who currently occupy the top three on the KHL’s points leaderboard. Gusev, who remains under contract with Dynamo Moscow through this season, is averaging nearly 20 minutes per game and leads the league with 11 points through seven games, helping the squad to a 5-2-0 start. After a disappointing end to his NHL tenure with the New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers in 2020-21, the 31-year-old could be looking at an NHL comeback next summer after what looks to be three strong campaigns in his home country.

Morozov was the Golden Knights’ second-round pick in 2018, and they’ve loaned him out to Spartak Moscow for this season after an underwhelming performance with AHL Henderson last season, in which he netted just 17 points in 58 games. He’s got three goals and ten points through seven games to start the season, however, including a three-assist performance in Spartak’s season-opening loss against Kunlun Red Star.

Rumors have also swirled about a potential NHL return for the 27-year-old Goldobin in recent months, but nothing came to fruition this offseason. He obviously hasn’t let that affect his play, recording eight goals through seven games for Spartak to lead the KHL. His last full NHL season came in 2018-19 with the Vancouver Canucks.

Finally, things are looking up once again for future Philadelphia Flyers star Matvei Michkov after KHL powerhouse SKA St. Petersburg loaned him out to bottom-dweller HK Sochi for the consecutive season. After playing a combined 6:12 through SKA’s first four games of the campaign, Michkov has assumed a top-six role once again in Sochi and is delivering the goods with two assists and a combined 12 shots on goal through his first two games, helping Sochi win back-to-back games. Their record is 3-3-1 through the first seven games of the season after winning just nine games throughout all of the 2022-23 campaign.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Big Hype Prospects: Silovs, Evans, Lekkerimäki, Perunovich, Vilén

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Welcome to PHR’s Big Hype Prospects series. Like the MLB Trade Rumors series of the same name, we’re taking a look at the performances of top prospects from across the hockey world. We’ll look at drafted prospects who are rising, others who are struggling, and prospects for the upcoming draft who are notable.

Five Big Hype Prospects

Arturs Silovs, G, Vancouver Canucks (Abbotsford Canucks, AHL)
44 GP 26-12-5 .909 sv% 2.44 GAA (regular season) 2 GP 1-1-0 .914 sv% 2.85 GAA (postseason)

Although incumbent starter Thatcher Demko is under contract until after the 2025-26 season, this past campaign Vancouver Canucks fans could not be blamed for placing some increased focus on some of their organization’s younger netminders due to Demko’s struggles. One of those potential “next in line” netminders is Silovs, a 2019 sixth-round pick.

Coming from the hockey-mad country of Latvia, Silovs took a significant step forward this season. For the first time, Silovs was an undisputed starter for his pro team, playing in 44 games in Abbotsford and succeeding to the tune of a .909 save percentage.

Silovs’ exceptional run of form in early February earned him his first NHL start, and although he struggled against the New York Rangers in his first game he ended his set of five NHL starts with a 3-2 record, 2.75 goals-against-average, and .908 save percentage.

Silovs showcased growth with each passing game, even ending his NHL run with a 29-save victory over the Nashville Predators that included this fantastic stop.

Silovs’ best work, though, came after his club season ended and he was tapped to represent his country. Silovs was selected as Latvia’s starter for the IIHF Men’s World Championships, over 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics hero Kristers Gudlevskis. Given a major role in a tournament where games would be played in his home city, Riga, Silovs seized the moment.

Silovs posted a 7-3 record, 2.20 goals-against-average, and .921 save percentage in 10 tournament starts, leading Latvia to some of the biggest wins in its history and the nation’s first-ever IIHF Worlds medal.

Latvia played quite a few high-intensity games against hockey powerhouse countries that brought legitimate NHL talent to the tournament, and even with the pressure of an entire country on his shoulders Silovs managed to show some immense poise. He found himself under siege in many of those games, such as in their quarterfinal against Sweden where he faced 41 shots and stopped all but one.

Silovs’ performance earned him tournament MVP honors, and now he heads into the next season with significant momentum and a legitimate chance to seize the backup job behind Demko from veteran Spencer Martin.

Ryker Evans, LHD, Seattle Kraken (Coachella Valley Firebirds, AHL)
71 GP 6G 38A 44pts (regular season) 26 GP 5G 21A 26pts (postseason)

Although Seattle Kraken fans were undoubtedly disappointed to see their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, lose in overtime of Game Seven of the Calder Cup Final, the performance of Evans, arguably Seattle’s top defensive prospect, has to have been extremely encouraging.

Evans, 21, was selected 35th overall by the Kraken at the 2021 draft, becoming the franchise’s first-ever second-round pick. This came as a surprise to some as Evans was actually an overage talent who had gone undrafted in his first season of eligibility. But the Kraken found Evans’ COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 WHL campaign to be impressive enough to warrant the investment of a high pick, and after Evans’ first campaign as a professional, he is quickly vindicating the Kraken’s leap of faith.

Evans had a strong regular season, posting 44 points in 71 games as one of head coach Dan Bylsma’s most relied-upon defensemen. It’s a major challenge for many prospects to move from junior hockey, where space is far easier to come by, to the AHL, a pro league. For offensively-focused defensemen, that challenge can be even steeper as many need to un-learn habits that worked for them against competition made up of their peers but are ineffective against seasoned pros.

There didn’t appear to be much of a challenge in translating his junior scoring to the AHL for Evans, who led all AHL rookies in assists and was named to the league’s all-rookie team. But even after that regular season, it’s Evans’ performance during the Firebirds’ extended playoff run that’s most impressive.

Evans played a major role on a team that nearly won an AHL title, and with the Firebirds’ regular-season leading defensive scorer Brogan Rafferty’s production sputtering Evans more than stepped up to fill the offensive void.

Evans’ creativity and ability to make something out of nothing from the back-end proved extremely useful to the Firebirds, who boasted a netminder in Joey Daccord who made it incredibly difficult for opposing teams once his teammates bestowed him a lead in a game.

Although breakout NHL blueliner Vince Dunn is set to remain the centerpiece offensive blueliner in Seattle moving forward, it would be no shock to see Evans beat out a veteran for a role in Seattle and potentially even make his way onto the team’s second-unit power play.

Jonathan Lekkerimäki, RW, Vancouver Canucks (Djurgården IF, HockeyAllsvenskan)
29 GP 3G 6A 9pts (regular season) 15GP 5G 10A 15pts (postseason)

For most of 2022-23, it seemed as though the narrative surrounding Lekkerimäki, a Vancouver Canucks 2022 first-round pick, would be that his first season after being drafted was an unequivocal disappointment. Lekkerimäki played his draft season in the SHL, and posted nine points, a strong number for such a young player.

But in his post-draft campaign, Lekkerimäki played a division below the SHL, in the HockeyAllsvenskan, thanks to Djurgården’s relegation the season prior. Despite playing in three more games at a decreased competition level, Lekkerimäki posted the exact same number of points as the season before: nine.

Lekkerimäki suffered a foot injury that took him out of the lineup until the HockeyAllsvenskan playoffs, though, and it was in the postseason where Lekkerimäki really shined. Lekkerimäki re-joined the lineup against BIK Karlskoga and was instantly slotted into a top-line role next to 2022 Minnesota Wild first-rounder Liam Ohgren and two-time Stanley Cup Champion Marcus Kruger.

Lekkerimäki scored a goal in each of his first two games back and began a torrid run of form that would see him nearly push Djurgården back to the SHL, scoring 15 points in 15 games. Lekkerimäki was drafted 15th overall in 2022 on the basis of his offensive talent, with many projecting him to eventually become a difference-making NHL scorer.

Though he didn’t exactly look like one for most of his time in HockeyAllsvenskan, his playoff performance serves as a reminder as to why he remains one of Vancouver’s top prospects. Now with Örebro in the SHL, one of the league’s better teams, he’ll have a prime opportunity to put the 2022-23 regular season behind him.

Scott Perunovich, LHD, St. Louis Blues (Springfield Thunderbirds, AHL)
22GP 2G 18A 20pts (regular season) 2GP 0G 0A 0pts (postseason)

Set to turn 25 in August, Perunovich, the 2018 45th overall pick, is a bit older than most prospects featured here. But seeing as injuries have laid waste to his development in recent seasons, he doesn’t have the type of experience under his belt that most second-round picks his age would usually have.

Perunovich only played in 24 total AHL games this past season, and while he played 19 games in the NHL in 2021-22 he didn’t get into any NHL games in 2022-23. As a result of the impact injuries have had on his availability, Perunovich will be waivers-exempt for another season, lessening the pressure for him to make an immediate NHL impact somewhat.

Although the Blues already have Torey Krug, Nick Leddy, and Marco Scandella on the left side of their defense for next season, the minutes Perunovich did play this past season do suggest he could be ready to push one of those veterans for a role in St. Louis. Perunovich was highly productive in the regular season for the Thunderbirds, scoring 20 points in 22 games.

Although the Thunderbirds struggled immensely in the playoffs, eliminated by the Hartford Wolf Pack by a combined 13-2 score, Perunovich actually ended his season on a high note. He quarterbacked Team USA’s first power-play unit at the IIHF Men’s World Championships and posted eight points in 10 games. That ranked him fourth among blueliners at the tournament, and his two points in the bronze medal match against Latvia nearly gave the Americans a medal.

Perunovich’s career has taken quite a hit due to injuries since he won the Hobey Baker Award in 2020, that much is undoubtable. But when he did play in 2022-23, he showed real promise, and he’ll look to deliver on that promise at training camp with the Blues with the hope of earning an NHL roster spot.

Topias Vilén, LHD, New Jersey Devils (Lahti Pelicans, Liiga)
41 GP 9G 8A 17pts (regular season) 17GP 4G 5A 9pts (postseason)

Although some other New Jersey Devils defensive prospects draw quite a bit more attention, such as top draft picks Simon Nemec and Luke Hughes, Devils fans shouldn’t forget about Vilén, the team’s fifth-round pick at the 2021 draft. The six-foot-one left-shot Finnish blueliner has legitimately impressed overseas, though he has just one game as a professional in North America,

Vilén already has 124 games of experience in Liiga, one of the world’s best leagues outside the NHL, and he made some significant strides this past season. Vilén’s minutes per game shot up, going from 14:47 per game in 2021-22 to 19:26 in 2022-23, which ranked second on the Pelicans.

What makes that increase so impressive is not only the fact that Vilén is just 20 years old, it’s also that the Pelicans were one of Liiga’s best teams and ended up the league runner-up to Tappara Tampere.

Vilén made an impact on both ends of the ice, eating minutes in all situations and posting nine goals and 17 points. In the postseason, as the Pelicans made their deep playoff run, Vilén shined, scoring nine points and playing nearly 22 minutes in some important games, such as the team’s 4-1 win over Tappara in the finals.

Although it remains to be seen if Vilén will be able to translate his success in Liiga to North America, where the game is on a smaller ice surface and typically played with more physicality, Vilén could very well be one season of AHL development away from being a legitimate consideration for an NHL call-up to New Jersey.

That’s not a bad return for a late-round pick, especially for a Devils team that will soon need to have a steady pipeline of young talent on their roster playing on cheap entry-level deals thanks to the expensive contracts already on their books.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Jonathan Lekkerimaki Will Play In SHL This Season

at CDT | by 4 Comments

Despite signing his entry-level contract earlier this month, Vancouver Canucks prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki won’t play for the organization this season. Orebro HK has announced a contract with the young forward, one that extends through the 2024-25 season.

In the release, the team explains that Lekkerimaki will travel to Vancouver for training camp in the summer but return to Sweden before the season begins. That same process will be repeated the following year, though the Canucks will have the option to put him on the NHL roster if they feel he is ready.

Lekkerimaki will be joined in this exercise by fellow Swedish prospect Elias Pettersson (no, not that Elias Pettersson), who signed his entry-level deal in April. Both players can continue to develop overseas, while their contracts slide forward, maintaining team control.

Selected 15th overall in 2022, the 18-year-old Lekkerimaki has still not found consistent success at the highest level in Sweden. While there were encouraging signs in 2021-22 with Djurgardens IF, the club was relegated the following season, meaning he was limited to Allsvenskan competition.

Now joining Orebro gives him a chance to compete in the SHL once again, challenging his development and preparing him for life in the NHL.

Canucks Sign Jonathan Lekkerimaki

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Canucks have signed one of their top prospects, announcing that they’ve inked winger Jonathan Lekkerimaki to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the deal has a cap hit of $950K and an AAV of $1.425MM per season after factoring in $475K in ’A’ bonuses in each year.  GM Patrik Allvin released the following statement about the signing:

Jonathan had a good run in the playoffs and gained a lot of valuable experience but unfortunately his team fell short of its ultimate goal. Each player’s development path is different and in Jonathan’s case, he had to deal with a lot of adversity this past year. But with each challenge he faced, he found a way to learn and grow. With the help of our staff, we will find the best path forward for him and we look forward to Jonathan joining our development camp in July.

The 18-year-old was the 15th overall pick at the draft last summer after a strong showing in Sweden’s junior league while also more than holding his own with seven goals in 26 games with Djurgardens of the SHL.  However, his club team was relegated down a division to the Allsvenskan in 2022-23 but it didn’t result in a big jump in output for Lekkerimaki.  Instead, he wound up with just three goals and six assists in 29 regular season games while picking up four points in seven contests for Sweden at the World Juniors.

However, Lekkerimaki was able to finish up strong, picking up a point per game in the playoffs in 15 contests but Djurgardens fell in the finals, preventing them from returning to the top level next season.  Accordingly, the winger had recently been linked to Leksands for next season in a report from Aftonbladet in Sweden.  This contract doesn’t preclude Lekkerimaki from playing overseas next season with Leksands or elsewhere; to that end, Lekkerimaki told Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic (Twitter link) that he is in discussions with SHL teams for next season.  If Lekkerimaki doesn’t play in ten games with the Canucks next season (an outcome that seems likely at this point), his contract will slide a year and still have three seasons remaining on it at this point next year.

Jonathan Lekkerimaki Expected To Miss Two Months With Foot Injury

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It has already been a rather disappointing post-draft season for Vancouver Canucks prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki, the 15th overall pick from 2022. Now, after suffering a foot injury at practice, he is expected to miss the next eight weeks.

Through 29 games with Djurgardens IF this season, Lekkerimaki has scored just three goals and nine points. That’s despite the club being relegated and playing in the Swedish second tier this year, after being in the SHL during 2021-22. The young forward was also part of the World Junior team that lost to Czechia in the semi finals and then fell 8-7 to the United States in the bronze medal match.

While there have been very few players from the 2022 draft to suit up in the NHL to this point, many of those selected below Lekkerimaki have had more encouraging seasons. An absence of eight weeks won’t help his case, even though there is a long time before any expectations should be placed on the 18-year-old.

As a late-July birthday, Lekkerimaki was one of the younger players in his draft class and still has exceptional upside as an offensive winger. Perhaps some time off to recover will grant him a reset and allow him to return with some extra confidence.

Interestingly, he is only signed to his club through the end of this season, meaning an entry-level deal could be on the horizon. Next month, teams can start signing ELCs that begin in 2023-24 – Lekkerimaki is a good candidate, though he isn’t expected to push for an NHL job anytime soon.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top