Jonathan Lekkerimäki (born 24 July 2004) is a Swedish professional ice hockey right winger for Örebro HK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) on loan as a prospect from the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 15th overall by the Canucks in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.
| Jonathan Lekkerimäki | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
24 July 2004 Huddinge, Sweden | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 172 lb (78 kg; 12 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| NHL team (P) Cur. team Former teams |
Vancouver Canucks Abbotsford Canucks (AHL) Djurgårdens IF Örebro HK | ||
| NHL Draft |
15th overall, 2022 Vancouver Canucks | ||
| Playing career | 2021–present | ||
Playing career edit
Lekkerimäki made his professional debut for Djurgårdens IF during the 2021–22 season, where he recorded seven goals and two assists in 26 games. This made Lekkerimäki the second most-productive 17-year-old goal-scorer in SHL history after Peter Forsberg, who had seven goals in 23 games.[1] He also appeared in 26 games for Djurgårdens' J20 team where he recorded 20 goals and 15 assists. He missed the last month of the season due to mononucleosis.[2]
On 1 July 2022, Lekkerimäki was drafted in the second round, 70th overall, by the Vancouver Giants in the CHL Import Draft.[3] Opting to remain in Sweden and continue his development with Djurgårdens first season in the Allsvenskan in 2022–23, Lekkerimäki produced 9 points through 29 games before missing the remainder of the regular season due to injury. Returning for the playoffs, Lekkerimäki produced at a point-per-game pace through 15 games, before falling short of promotion to the SHL in a game 7 finals defeat to Modo Hockey.
On 6 May 2023, Lekkerimäki was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks.[4] In order to continue his progress in development, Lekkerimäki left Djurgårdens and signed a two-year contract with SHL club, Örebro HK, on loan from the Canucks on 16 May 2023.[5]
International play edit
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Sweden
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
 |
2024 Sweden | |
 |
2022 Canada | |
| World U18 Championships | ||
 |
2022 Germany | |
Lekkerimäki represented Sweden at the 2022 IIHF World U18 Championships where he led the tournament in scoring with five goals and ten assists in six games and won a gold medal.[1]
Lekkerimäki represented Sweden at the 2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships where he led the team in scoring and recorded seven goals and three assists in seven games and won a silver medal. He scored the game-winning-goal against Team Czechia to send Team Sweden to the gold medal game.[6] He was subsequently named tournament MVP.[7]
Personal life edit
Lekkerimäki is of Finnish descent through his Finnish grandmother, who had moved to Sweden from Kuusamo, Finland, in the 1960s.[8]
Career statistics edit
Regular season and playoffs edit
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2019–20 | Djurgårdens IF | J18 | 58 | 30 | 15 | 45 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Djurgårdens IF | J18 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 16 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Djurgårdens IF | J20 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Djurgårdens IF | J20 | 26 | 20 | 15 | 35 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Djurgårdens IF | SHL | 26 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Djurgårdens IF | J20 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Djurgårdens IF | Allsv | 29 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 2 | ||
| 2023–24 | Örebro HK | SHL | 46 | 19 | 12 | 31 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| SHL totals | 72 | 26 | 14 | 40 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||
International edit
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Sweden | HG18 | 
|
5 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 4 | |
| 2022 | Sweden | U18 | 
|
6 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 4 | |
| 2022 | Sweden | WJC |
|
7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2023 | Sweden | WJC | 4th | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | |
| 2024 | Sweden | WJC | 
|
7 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 32 | 18 | 19 | 37 | 12 | ||||
Awards and honours edit
| Award | Year | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|
| International | |||
| World Junior Championship MVP | 2024 | [7] | |
| World Junior Championship Media All-Star Team | 2024 | ||
References edit
- ^ a b Aykroyd, Lucas (26 April 2022). "Lekkerimaki shoots to thrill". IIHF.com. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- ^ Morreale, Mike G. (19 June 2022). "Top International skaters discussed ahead of 2022 NHL Draft". NHL.com. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- ^ "Giants add 2 European Forwards at CHL Import Draft". vancouvergiants.com. 1 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- ^ "Canucks sign Jonathan Lekkerimäki to three-year, entry-level contract". Vancouver Canucks. 6 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- ^ "Welcome, Jonathan Lekkerimäki" (in Swedish). Örebro HK. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
- ^ Clipperton, Joshua (4 January 2024). "Canucks prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki leads Sweden over Czechia in world junior semis". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ a b "Lekkerimaki named MVP". IIHF.com. International Ice Hockey Federation. 5 January 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ Kaikkonen, Janne (13 December 2019). "Suomi kohtaa Ruotsin viikonloppuna Kuusamossa - Alle 16-vuotiaiden maaottelu oppina paikallisillekin: "Tämä antaa junioreille perspektiiviä siitä missä alle 16-vuotiaissa huipulla mennään"". Koillissanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 20 December 2023.
External links edit
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
 | This biographical article relating to a Swedish ice hockey player is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |