Jonathan Lekkerimaki’s next season could say a lot about where he stands with the Vancouver Canucks.
Four full drafts have now passed since the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, and that’s the point where patience starts to wear thin on highly touted prospects who still haven’t locked down a regular NHL job. A few names from that class have already surged into major roles - Juraj Slafkovsky, Logan Cooley, Cutter Gauthier and Lane Hutson among them - while others are still trying to turn promise into permanence.
For Vancouver, the pressure point sits with Lekkerimaki, the No. 15 pick in 2022 out of Djurgårdens IF of the SHL. The winger has shown enough skill to keep people interested, but he still hasn’t put together a steady run in the NHL.
Thomas Drance of The Athletic laid out the concern on Friday, saying Lekkerimaki “needs to add core strength more than anything else” because “he’s not big enough or fast enough to hold up against NHL competition” at this point. Drance also said Lekkerimaki’s offseason “was at least partly compromised by recovery” from the shoulder injury that ended his 2025-26 season, adding that “it’s hard to imagine that he’ll be ready this fall to address his physical shortcomings.”
That doesn’t eliminate his chance to make the team, but it does put a spotlight on just how much work still remains. Lekkerimaki, now 22, has flashed offense everywhere except the NHL, and injuries have kept him from building the kind of momentum that usually helps a young player settle in.
His numbers at lower levels have been strong. In 2023-24, while on loan to Örebro HK in the SHL, he put up 19 goals and 31 points in 46 games. The next season, he crossed to North America and delivered immediately in the AHL, scoring 19 goals and 28 points in his first 36 games while helping the AHL Canucks win a Calder Cup.
Last season brought a similar split. He scored 13 goals and 20 points in 21 AHL games, but he managed only three points in 13 NHL appearances on a Canucks team that was struggling.
At 5-foot-11 and built as an offensive winger, his route to being an everyday NHL player is narrow. If he’s going to stick, the scoring has to come with him, because he hasn’t yet shown enough at the NHL level to survive without it.
Vancouver does have some flexibility here. Lekkerimaki still has another season of waivers exemption, so the club can send him to Abbotsford without risking losing him on waivers.
At the same time, there is a real opening on the roster if he can seize it. Vancouver is not packed with high-end forward talent, and there may be a wing spot available, possibly on a third line with Filip Chytil and Drew O’Connor. He would still need to beat out older options like Paul Cotter and Max Sasson, plus AHL scoring threat Trey Fix-Wolansky.
One thing that could help is the coaching change. The Canucks moved on from Adam Foote and hired Manny Malhotra, who previously coached Abbotsford.
That means Malhotra knows Lekkerimaki well and saw him at his best. If the winger can’t win a place in that setup, either out of camp or through an early-season call-up, it would only sharpen the questions around his long-term fit in Vancouver.
Evaluators remain split on what comes next. Stephen Ellis of Daily Faceoff ranked Lekkerimaki No. 2 in the Canucks’ system and said he still has “plenty of high-end potential to go around.”
Scott Wheeler of The Athletic was similarly bullish, ranking him No. 1 in the system during the middle of last season and writing that his “talent is undeniable.” Wheeler projected him as a possible top-six forward and a finisher on a first power play unit.
Others see a tougher path. Elite Prospects scout Kareem Elshafey said last month that Lekkerimaki’s “game hasn’t translated” to the NHL yet. Corey Pronman of The Athletic was even more down on him, ranking him No. 13 among Canucks youngsters in his recent pipeline list.
Pronman described him as a “very talented but highly frustrating player” who “has a high-end shot” but is also “a good-not-great skater and small winger who shies away from the net front and doesn’t play overly hard.” He added that “it’s not clear his talent is so good he can play that way at the NHL level.”
The debate around Lekkerimaki is still very much alive. What isn’t in doubt is that 2026-27 could go a long way toward defining his future in Vancouver.
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