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While NFL training camp is controlling the sports airwaves, it isn't the only training camp that is soon to take place. The NHL season feels like it ended just a few days ago, but 2023 training camp is about to commence in roughly a month. Across the league, veterans will want to sharpen their steel and get ready for another grind of a regular season. Meanwhile, prospects are going to showcase their skills as well in their quest to get regular playing time as well. The Vancouver Canucks are no exception.
The Canucks' 2022-23 season was a disappointment, as they missed the playoffs. They were 12 points back from the Winnipeg Jets for the final playoff spot, which was roughly the same gap in points from the number one seed in the Western Conference (the Las Vegas Golden Knights) and the seventh seed (the Seattle Kraken). Perhaps plugging in more of Vancouver's prospects can help them get into the postseason. Though thehockeywriters.com ranked Vancouver's farm system as the 30th in the NHL (there are 32 teams in the NHL), there are still some players to keep an eye on from that farm system who can help the Canucks take a step forward as a franchise.
Tom Willander
Tom Willander was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks as a right defenseman in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft. The Canucks selected him 11th overall. Willander is a Swedish native who played well in both the SHL and in international play. In 39 games for Rögle BK in the SHL's J20 division, Willander scored four goals and racked up 21 assists. He ended up posting 25 points. Willander isn't going to play for the Canucks in the immediate future; he committed to Boston University and will play there in the 2022-23 season. But he's a Canucks prospect to watch going forward.
Jonathan Lekkerimaki
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A year before the Canucks drafted Willander, they used their 2022 first round pick on Jonathan Lekkerimaki. He too is a Swedish national but has more professional experience than Willander. Lekkerimaki first played professionally for Djurgårdens IF in the SHL's J18 division. He played 58 games in the 2019-20 season and scored 30 goals and registered 15 assists. He only played nine total games in the 2020-21 season but bounced back in the 2021-22 season. In the SHL's J20 division, he generated 35 points in 26 games. That was enough to prompt a promotion to the SHL, the highest hockey division in Sweden's ice hockey system. He appeared in 26 games and scored seven goals while adding two assists.
The next season, Lekkerimaki spent most of his time in the HockeyAllsvenskan for Djurgårdens IF, the second division in Sweden's ice hockey system. He only registered nine points in 26 games in the regular season, but he stepped his game up in their postseason. In his first postseason in a professional league, he scored five goals and added ten assists in 15 playoff games. He's also accumulated 27 points in 25 career international games for the Swedish national teams. Lekkerimaki is joining Orebro HK this season meaning his debut with the Canucks will have to wait. But there is a lot of potential with him in Vancouver.
Moving Forward
The Vancouver Canucks don't want to miss the playoffs all that frequently going forward. Building up their farm system is a good way to do so. That farm system needs some work and additions to move up from their 30th ranking from a year ago by thehockeywriters.com. But at least Tom Willander and Jonathan Lekkerimaki give the Canucks a strong base to work with. Those two prospects will be ones to keep an eye on during training camp and once the season is underway.
