Latest news with #JonathanLekkerimäki
New York Times
22-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
What I'm seeing from Canucks' top prospects in AHL playoffs
The Abbotsford Canucks are one win away from reaching the AHL Western Conference Finals. Vancouver's minor-league affiliate pushed the Colorado Eagles to the brink of elimination by taking a 2-1 lead in this best-of-five series after a thrilling, come-from-behind 3-2 overtime win on Wednesday. It's impressive that the junior Canucks have reached this point despite injuries to key players like Aatu Räty, Christian Wolanin, and Jonathan Lekkerimäki during various points of this playoff run. Advertisement Räty, their top centre, hasn't played since Game 2 against Coachella Valley last round. Wolanin, who was named the AHL's best defenceman in 2022-23, finally returned to the lineup for Game 3 against Colorado, marking just third appearance in these playoffs. Lekkerimäki, meanwhile, missed three games closer to the start of the club's playoff run. Abbotsford has played 10 Calder Cup playoff games so far this spring. Here, however, we will specifically zoom in on the Canucks' recent play through three games of the Pacific Divisional Finals against Colorado, with a special emphasis on how Vancouver's top prospects have performed. Mancini, acquired as the third piece as part of the J.T. Miller trade with the New York Rangers, is playing spectacularly as an all-situations workhorse. He's been Abbotsford's best defenceman by a mile, excelling in all phases of the game. The 22-year-old's athleticism (the combination of his skating and size) separates him from others at the AHL level. Mancini effortlessly shakes off forecheckers on the breakout with his smooth, powerful skating. He isn't just fast in straight lines, either; he can make tight turns, use hesitations, and change directions with the puck, so it's hard for opponents to predict his next move. Mancini's work on zone exits has been terrific — whether it's occasional solo end-to-end rushes or composed, accurate outlet passes. The biggest difference between watching Mancini in the AHL and NHL is that his decision-making and hockey IQ translate significantly better at the minor league level. In Vancouver, he sometimes seemed a tad behind reading the play at the NHL's whirlwind speed. Mancini got a cameo with Quinn Hughes towards the end of the season, and while there were encouraging flashes, a few seams showed, too. He didn't always look sharp or confident handling the puck against speedy NHL forechecks, he'd occasionally get pulled out of position defensively, and his overall game just seemed a tad sporadic. With Abbotsford, on the other hand, the game has slowed down for Mancini in a good way. He stays cool as a cucumber with the puck rather than making rushed, panicky decisions when heavily pressured by opponents. He's oozing confidence and seemingly always making the right play at the right time. LUCKY NUMBER 🎰 GRAB THAT PUCK BOYS ⚫️ — X – Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) May 22, 2025 Offensively, Mancini's picked up some steam with two goals and an assist in three games against Colorado. He had an excellent sequence in Game 3, where he flew down the left wall with the puck and made a power move to the net for a scoring chance. Mancini scored a backhand rebound goal from the chaos that his net-front drive caused. Advertisement Defensively, he's been rock solid, too. Mancini has been a major driver of Abbotsford's elite penalty kill during these playoffs. He clogs east-west passing lanes and backdoor seams very well and leverages his size down low to break up plays. At even strength, he's picked the right moments to pinch up the wall to keep plays alive and step up in the neutral zone to break up Colorado's transition game. Defending a late Game 1 lead, he showed impressive anticipation to pick off a pass and ice the game with an empty-net goal. By all measures, this has been a standout playoff run for Mancini. However, it's also important to balance those glowing positives with an understanding that the AHL is a significant step down in quality compared to the NHL — crushing it in the minors doesn't guarantee that you'll eventually become a top-four NHL mainstay. Don't forget that a player like Erik Brännström looked like Quinn Hughes in Abbotsford, yet he could not stick in the NHL with any team this season. Overall though, Mancini's trajectory is promising, and he should provide Tom Willander with legitimate competition for an NHL roster spot out of training camp next fall. The pressure on Lekkerimäki was starting to ramp up heading into this series. Vancouver's prized winger prospect didn't score a single point in Abbotsford's final four regular season games after being reassigned to the AHL in early April. He hadn't scored and slumped to just a lone assist in four playoff games before the series against Colorado. Combined, that was eight consecutive games without a goal, with just one point in that timeframe. Lekkerimäki's Game 1 performance against Colorado didn't inspire any confidence. It's not just that he didn't produce; it's that he didn't even look dangerous. He was largely uninvolved — there weren't any speedy zone entries, quality rush chances, or other signs of him driving play. Lekkerimäki was firmly a passenger playing on a line with Max Sasson and Arshdeep Bains. He had a couple of bad defensive zone turnovers along the wall. It was hard for him to get shots through, and his creativity with the puck wasn't showing. Advertisement However, the undersized 20-year-old sniper has flipped a switch, notching four points in his last two games. It started with Lekkerimäki finally scoring his first goal of the playoffs in Game 2 by pouncing on the rebound created by a Mancini shot off of an offensive zone face-off win. After that, his confidence rebounded. He looked dangerous on a couple of rushes later in Game 2, which was notable because Abbotsford hadn't generated many transition chances up to that point in the series. In Game 3, he picked up two primary assists. Lekkerimäki fired a heavy shot in the high slot after Mancini's net drive, with the latter scoring off the young Swede's rebound. He carried the puck up ice and made a neat pass to Max Sasson, who buried the game-tying goal in the third period. Lekkerimäki hit the crossbar later in the third period, too. It's encouraging to see him finally returning to difference-maker form. Lekkerimäki's bounce back is critical, and Sasson's Game 3 breakthrough—his speed and work rate were very noticeable, but he wasn't getting the bottom-line production—was much needed. However, Bains, the third member of that first line, must follow suit and get going, too. Bains has been a near point-per-game producer during his last two AHL seasons. The cerebral 24-year-old playmaker hasn't played poorly, but he also hasn't moved the needle enough, considering he's one of Abbotsford's star players. Bains hasn't scored a goal yet in these playoffs. He picked up a secondary assist in Game 2, which is his only point in the last seven games. He's manufactured a couple of Grade-A chances in this series with sweet spin-o-ramas, but he isn't setting up his linemates with enough quality chances for a playmaker of his calibre. Bains needs to play quicker to separate from defenders so he isn't restricted to the perimeter offensively so often. Šilovs has been sensational, playing to a ridiculous .931 save percentage, 1.77 goals against average, and three shutouts through 10 playoff games. In Game 1, Abbotsford defended very well in front of Šilovs — he barely faced any rush chances, and the team heavily limited dangerous east-west passes — but he still made a handful of outstanding saves to clinch the shutout victory. Advertisement Šilovs gave up four goals in Game 2, but only one of them, where he went into the reverse VH too quickly and got beat to the top corner on the short side from an incredibly sharp angle, was a 'bad' goal. Abbotsford's defensive play was much sloppier in that loss, too. Šilovs let a bad angle shot squeak in five-hole early in Game 3, but he was exceptional the rest of the way. He was peppered with Grade-A chances, especially off the rush, as Colorado's lethal offensive attack seemed to attack with far more pace and purpose in Game 3 than at the start of the series. Šilovs bailed his defenders out late after a couple of brutal turnovers, including an unbelievable breakaway stop on Jayson Megna in overtime. Kudryavtsev was taken out of the lineup in Game 3 to make room for Wolanin's return. It was a tough but understandable decision for Manny Malhotra. Kudryavtsev has been a steady two-way contributor during these playoffs, with his poised puck play and four points through eight games. However, Akito Hirose has been an enormous bright spot munching top-four minutes, and Guillaume Brisebois' harder playing style and higher defensive trust matter, which left Kudryavtsev as the odd left-handed defenceman out despite the rookie's quality play. It didn't help that Kudryavtsev had a bit of a down Game 2 performance. He lost a battle down low against Jake Wise, which led to Colorado opening the scoring early. He got hemmed in defensively for a few more shifts than usual throughout that game, and the power-play unit he quarterbacks was struggling, too. Despite his recent setback, this postseason has been a largely positive showing for Kudryavtsev. On the right side of the blue line, it's looking increasingly unlikely that Cole McWard will develop into a future NHL player. McWard plays fine in the AHL but doesn't stand out in any way. He's looked slow at times when breaking the puck out, and in Game 2, he failed to tie up a stick in front on Colorado's 3-1 goal. Karlsson has had a very fascinating playoff series. Advertisement At even-strength, he's been mostly quiet through the first three games of this series. His line with Phil Di Giuseppe and Ty Mueller hasn't consistently dictated play or threatened offensively. Karlsson wasn't doing a whole lot to drive play or create chances. He scored a one-time power-play goal from a slick no-look pass from Kudryavtsev in the garbage time of Game 2's loss, which was a nice play, but at a meaningless point of the game. Heading into a high-stakes Game 3, Abbotsford needed more from the net-front scoring ace who potted 23 goals in just 32 AHL games this season. Karlsson was quiet for most of Game 3 again, but none of that matters after his game-winner late in the first overtime period. Mueller pounced on a bad Colorado giveaway behind the net and jammed the puck out front. Karlsson found the puck in a maze of chaos around the blue paint and roofed it over Trent Miner to call game. That gave Karlsson his fifth goal of the postseason, which is tied for second-most among all AHL players. Most importantly, it powered Abbotsford to a high-stakes victory and an opportunity to knock Colorado out by winning one of Games 4 or 5. (Photo of Victor Mancini: Elsa/Getty Images)
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
3 Takeaways From The Abbotsford Canucks First Two Games Of The 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs
After two games, the Abbotsford Canucks find themselves tied in their first-round series of the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs. After Abbotsford took the first game, the Tucson Roadrunners picked up a win in Game 2, forcing a series-deciding Game 3 on Saturday night. Here are three takeaways from the series so far. Latest From THN's Vancouver Canucks Site: What Went Wrong For The 2024-25 Vancouver Canucks: Problems In Overtime Abbotsford Canucks 4–1 Loss To Tucson Roadrunners In Game 2 Tells A Tale Of Two Special Teams 3 Canucks Prospects Advance To The 2025 CHL Conference Finals Despite the Canucks holding a 18.2% power play, they have struggled with the man advantage so far in the post-season. Abbotsford has just two goals on 11 opportunities, and gave up their first shorthanded goal of the year in Game 1. Why they are operating at around the same percentage they did during the regular season, the inability to make the Roadrunners pay for taking penalties could play a massive factor in Game 3. For the Canucks to advance, they need better performances from their leading goal-scorers this season. Jonathan Lekkerimäki, who had 19 goals, has yet to find the scoresheet, while Danila Klimovich, who led the team with 25, has yet to record a shot on goal. If these two can start generating scoring chances, it will go a long way in helping Abbotsford advance to the next round. Overall, the Canucks have done a good job of getting pucks on net in this series. That being said, Abbotsford has a shooting percentage of 8.1%, which ranks sixth out of ten teams in the AHL Playoffs. While it is a positive that they are getting shots on goal, the Canucks need to find a way to get more traffic and make Tucson's goaltender move more frequently in order to find success. Abbotsford wraps up its three-game first-round series with the Roadrunners on Saturday night. The winner will advance to the second round, while the loser will see their season come to an end. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT from the Abbotsford Centre. Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Canucks prospects: Lekkerimäki, Willander are top-ranked. Will they be Abbotsford teammates soon?
This latest instalment of our weekly Vancouver Canucks top-10 prospects power rankings includes two important things to watch — Tom Willander and the Abbotsford Canucks. We'll start with Willander. The 20-year-old Swedish defenceman finished his sophomore season with the Boston University Terriers on Saturday with the Terriers' 6-2 loss to Western Michigan in the NCAA Frozen Four national championship finale. Both Quinn Hughes and Brock Boeser signed immediately with the Canucks after their second collegiate seasons and finished that year with the big club, and the thought process had been that Willander, who was Vancouver's first-round pick (No.11 overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft would do something similar. As of Tuesday morning, Willander and the Canucks had yet to come to any sort of agreement. There's been little news out of either side, other than a 'totally false,' via email from Willander's family adviser Todd Diamond regarding a Monday night social media report that Willander had signed with Vancouver from Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli. Seravalli later recanted, explaining instead that 'sources are very confident that this will end with an agreement that begins in 2025-26 season.' Willander remains at No. 2 on our prospect rankings. Top spot stays with Abbotsford winger Jonathan Lekkerimäki, 20, who was Vancouver's first-round selection (No. 15 overall) in 2022. It's conceivable they could still wind up teammates this season, though, since there's more runway to the year for the franchise's top farm team thanks to a playoff appearance being already guaranteed. Vancouver's season wraps up Wednesday with a visit from the Vegas Golden Knights. Abbotsford has three regular season games on the road this week, starting with a Wednesday trip to the Bakersfield Condors, before heading to postseason. Abbotsford (41-24-2-2) is second in the AHL's Pacific Division, six points in back of front-running Colorado Eagles (42-19-5-3), who also have three games left. Abbotsford is tied in points with the Ontario Reign (41-24-3-1). Abbotsford has the tiebreaker with more regulation-time wins (35-31). The top seven teams from the 10-team Pacific make the playoffs, with the first-place club getting a first-round bye. That opening round is a best-of-three. The second round is a best-of-five. That brings us to this week's prospect rankings. We're sticking to our year-long rules, so players that are currently with the big team aren't eligible. That leaves out the likes of defenceman Kirill Kudrayvtsev and goaltender Nikita Tolopilo, who were called up to Vancouver last week from Abbotsford under emergency conditions and are expected to go back to Abbotsford after Wednesday. Players also must be born in 2000 or later to be included. Last week's ranking is in parenthesis. All stats are as of Tuesday morning. 1. Jonathan Lekkerimäki , RW, (1) Lekkerimäki (34-19-9-28) was reassigned to Abbotsford from Vancouver last week and was held off the scoresheet in the 5-4 shootout loss Friday and 3-1 loss Saturday, both to the Calgary Wranglers. Abbotsford had come into the weekend on a 13-game winning streak. 2. Tom Willander, D, Boston University Terriers (2) Willander's second-year stats (39-2-22-24) are similar to his freshman numbers (38-4-21-25). 3. Anthony Romani, RW, Barrie Colts (5) The No. 2 seeded Colts carried a 2-0 lead on No. 3 Kingston into Game 3 of the best-of-seven second round OHL set on Tuesday. Romani (7-9-2-11) had an assist in a 6-2 Game 1 win and a goal in a 7-4 Game 2 win. The 19-year-old was a 2024 sixth-round draft selection. 4. Sawyer Mynio, D, Calgary Hitmen (3) The No. 2 seeded Hitmen were down 2-0 to No. 3 Lethbridge going into Game 3 of their best-of-seven second round WHL set on Tuesday. Mynio (6-0-4-4) had been held off the scoresheet in the first two games of the series. The 19-year-old was a 2023 third rounder. 5. , LW, Abbotsford (4) The 24-year-old Bains (47-10-31-41) continues to lead Abbotsford in scoring. The March 2022 free-agent signee didn't play Friday and was held off the scoresheet Saturday. 6. Danila Klimovich, RW, Abbotsford (7) The 2021 second rounder had a goal Friday and an assist Saturday. The 22-year-old Klimovich (62-24-13-37) continues to pace Abbotsord in goals. 7. Riley Patterson, C, Barrie (NR) Patterson (7-4-6-10) was picked second star in Barrie's Game 1 win over Kingston after putting one goal and two assists and was first star in their Game 2 win thanks to his two goals and one assist. The 19-year-old was a 2024 fourth rounder. 8. Artūrs Šilovs, G, Abbotsford (9) Šilovs (13-5-1, 2.51 goals against average, .901 save percentage) saw his seven-game win streak come to an end this weekend. He made 17 saves Friday, 26 saves Saturday. The 24-year-old was a 2019 sixth rounder. 9. Jett Woo, D, Abbotsford (NR) The 24-year-old Woo (65-2-16-18) is second on Abbotsford in plus-minus rating (plus-14), trailing Kudryavtsev (plus-17). He was a 2018 second rounder. 10. Ty Young, G, Kalamazoo Wings (NR) The 20-year-old, who was a 2022 fifth rounder, made 35 saves in a 6-4 loss to Iowa Sunday that wrapped up the ECHL season for Kalamazoo (31-33-6-2). They missed the playoffs by four points. Young made 41 stops in a 5-4 shootout win over Indy on Friday. Young (10-9-1, 2.53 goals against average, .926 save percentage in the ECHL) was a 2022 fifth rounder. Dropped from rankings: Kirill Kudrayvtsev, D, Abbotsford (No. 6); Ty Mueller, C, Abbotsford (No. 8), Nikita Tolopilo, G, Abbotsford (No. 10) sewen@ @ Report of Tom Willander signing with Vancouver Canucks is 'totally false' Canucks Coffee: Hope for Derek Forbort if orbital fracture recovery resembles Ian Cole
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Abbotsford Canucks Update: Lekkerimäki, Winning, And More
Fans' joy at the Vancouver Canucks' 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals was quickly diminished upon learning of the news that star prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki was sidelined due to injury. The 2022 first-round draft pick has scored 14 goals and seven assists in 24 games played for the Abbotsford Canucks, and made his NHL debut on November 12 against the Calgary Flames. Lekkerimäki crashes head first into the boards, his night looks over #Canucks — Scott Spitters (@scott_spitters) January 26, 2025 Lekkerimäki sustained an injury after falling head-first into the boards in Abbotsford's 6-2 victory on Saturday night against the Tuscon Roadrunners. While RinkWide's Jeff Paterson reported that Canucks GM Patrik Allvin believes the injury isn't serious, Abbotsford has yet to release any news on the prospect. Currently, Lekkerimäki is third in team scoring. Latest From : Canucks Prospects Qualifies For The 2025 Champions Hockey League Finals What The Mikko Rantanen Trade Means For The Vancouver Canucks Report: Canucks Tried To Acquire Nečas From The Hurricanes Despite losing Lekkerimäki, Saturday night's victory marks Abbotsford's eighth-straight victory. At the forefront of this campaign is Nils Åman, whose seven goals and 19 assists lead the team in points. Aatu Räty has also impressed, with the prospect being named the AHL Player of the Week off a two-goal, seven-assist effort in four games. Wednesday, January 29, is Abbotsford's last road game for this month. They're set to take on the Coachella Valley Firebirds at 7:00 pm PT. After, they will return to the Abbotsford Centre to face off against the Calgary Wranglers on Friday. Both of these teams are currently above Abbotsford in the standings, making these two games very valuable to their playoff push. Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through
