Has Alvin's 1st Round pick just been flushed down the toilet and wasted.

[JCorgi37]

2 hours ago, Oregon.Duck said:

Hindsight is 20/20 man. A lot of folks were happy with the pick too, because it was best player available. They must’ve seen something we didn’t. Kid oozes skill, just needed time to marinate. 
 

Y’all go from 0-100 in no time. He’s getting hit with a bit of adversity, let’s see how he responds before you start saying we’ve wasted a pick. 
 

Yeah when the Canucks made this pick I would say majority of people were happy with the pick. It's been 4 months since he's been drafted...can't call a kid a bust just yet. 

[Provost]

5 hours ago, Drakrami said:

I dont get this pick as well... All of our younger players (Pettersson/Hughes/Boeser/Hoglander) are featherweight and soft. So... let's add to that? 

It seemed odd since Rutherford said that his identity for the team was big and fast.  Why draft small players who are average skaters at best?  His sole high end skill is reportedly his shot.

Who knows if this kid works out or not, picks in this range are crap shoots that take years to pan out.

[Phil_314]

3 minutes ago, JCorgi37 said:

Yeah when the Canucks made this pick I would say majority of people were happy with the pick. It's been 4 months since he's been drafted...can't call a kid a bust just yet. 

Yup; if/ when he breaks out like Lysell has, we'd regret moving him too early.
Of course, if there was a top center prospect or RD prospect still available then I would've wanted someone who would be more immediately serviceable, but this is still a good pick with upside until proven otherwise.

Edited November 28, 2022 by Phil_314

[DSVII]

Let's give this guy at least a D+1 or +2 year before we jump to conclusions. 

[Devron]

Yeah Way way way way too early for this 

[awalk]

Isn't the idea to take BPA in round 1, and not target current positional or organizational needs (i.e. a RHD, or a big physical skater, etc)? 

 

I wasn't too up to date on this past draft, who should they have taken instead?

[VegasCanuck]

The kid's 18 years old... lol

 

Hope he's alright, we drafted the guy that they felt had the best overall upside, which is how you build a successful team. If you wind up with too many of one type of player, you trade with a team for the resources that you need.

 

This is how the NHL has worked for a LONG time, for all teams.

[VegasCanuck]

6 hours ago, RU SERIOUS said:

While many normal Canucks fans were very upset and mystified - but not entirely surprised - that Alvin was magnetized by and just couldn't resist picking one his fellow countrymen (Lekkerimaki) in the 1st Rd draft at 15th, despite many teams passing up on him from his 9th place ranking, it's starting to look like our 1st Round pick is quickly turning to mush following another serious blow to his head on the weekend.  Despite his terrible performance this year, these repeated head shots and likely concussions may be the final nail in the coffin for this struggling featherweight finesse player, as he quickly turns into just another Concussed Washed-out Marshmallow. 

 

How "Canucks" would it be if this draft pick goes "Bust" after all the bad draft picks JB made and gave away over the past near-decade!     

 

Here is the just released report from "The Province" of what happened:

 

"A season that’s started poorly for Vancouver Canucks top prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki just got worse.

The 15th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, playing for Djurgardens IF of Sweden’s second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan, took a hard, high hit in a game on Saturday and immediately dropped to the ice.

The hit came midway through the third period, as the 18-year-old entered the offensive zone with the puck and spun away from a Vasteras IK defender, only to get crushed by another player. (See video of the hit above)

Lekkerimaki did not return to the game, a 2-1 loss for Djurgardens. He may have a concussion, though that has yet to be confirmed.

 

Lekkerimaki, a 5-foot-11, 172-pound right-shot forward, was already struggling this season, netting just one goal and four assists in 20 games.

He had taken another hard hit along the boards in a game a couple weeks ago, but was able to skate it off.

Jonathan Lekkerimaki (#88) selected 15th OA by Vancouver in 2022 has struggled a bit thus far in the HockeyAllsvenskan. A bit too much 

This comes back to fans blaming Benning for the injuries Juolevi sustained AFTER getting drafted. 2 major knee surgeries.

 

I do not agree that we should be holding management accountable for a lack of clairvoyance. We picked the wrong kid with Virtanen, but as I recall, there was a LOT of fans on this board, screaming that we should pick him. You can yell at Benning for Virtanen, but you can't control injuries that a kid sustains after you pick him.

[BCNate]

Kid was 2-3 years away from making the NHL.  He is still 2-3 years away from making the NHL.  He still has a ton of upside.

[Baggins]

[AngryElf]

These are the same guys saying you always pick BPA and reprimanding Benning for Juolevi/Tkachuk. You can’t just choose when to say BPA and when to get mad at the front office for doing just that. Instead of being hypocritical and pouncing on a poor kid dealing with injury problems, why don’t we just support the guy?

[Ballisticsports.]

Think of an 18 yr old you may know and remember how young that is, on top of any medical issues he may have and new league and playing men

I haven't looked, but if we flushed a 15th pick away already, who else after the 15th pick is lighting it up in the NHL right now?

[klw604]

[R3aL]

7 hours ago, RU SERIOUS said:

While many normal Canucks fans were very upset and mystified - but not entirely surprised - that Alvin was magnetized by and just couldn't resist picking one his fellow countrymen (Lekkerimaki) in the 1st Rd draft at 15th, despite many teams passing up on him from his 9th place ranking, it's starting to look like our 1st Round pick is quickly turning to mush following another serious blow to his head on the weekend.  Despite his terrible performance this year, these repeated head shots and likely concussions may be the final nail in the coffin for this struggling featherweight finesse player, as he quickly turns into just another Concussed Washed-out Marshmallow. 

 

How "Canucks" would it be if this draft pick goes "Bust" after all the bad draft picks JB made and gave away over the past near-decade!     

 

Here is the just released report from "The Province" of what happened:

 

"A season that’s started poorly for Vancouver Canucks top prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki just got worse.

The 15th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, playing for Djurgardens IF of Sweden’s second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan, took a hard, high hit in a game on Saturday and immediately dropped to the ice.

The hit came midway through the third period, as the 18-year-old entered the offensive zone with the puck and spun away from a Vasteras IK defender, only to get crushed by another player. (See video of the hit above)

Lekkerimaki did not return to the game, a 2-1 loss for Djurgardens. He may have a concussion, though that has yet to be confirmed.

 

Lekkerimaki, a 5-foot-11, 172-pound right-shot forward, was already struggling this season, netting just one goal and four assists in 20 games.

He had taken another hard hit along the boards in a game a couple weeks ago, but was able to skate it off.

Jonathan Lekkerimaki (#88) selected 15th OA by Vancouver in 2022 has struggled a bit thus far in the HockeyAllsvenskan. A bit too much 

He was ranked 8 on their list. Performed very well in the SHL. Has a skill set that looks NHL transferable. On top of an NHL level shot.

 

has he had a rough year yes.

 

starting the year with mono and now a concussion.

 

very unfortunate but he’s still ver young, very talented and he’s going to work hard to get back at it and develop into an NHL player.

 

the kid is far from a wasted pick. 

[R3aL]

5 hours ago, EddieVedder said:

Pick made no sense. We needed dmen.

 

But hope he turns out.

In Hindsight Owen  Pickering looks like the best pick for us but still 

 

still early and they stuck to their BPA list

[RU SERIOUS]

3 minutes ago, R3aL said:

He was ranked 8 on their list. Performed very well in the SHL. Has a skill set that looks NHL transferable. On top of an NHL level shot.

 

has he had a rough year yes.

 

starting the year with mono and now a concussion.

 

very unfortunate but he’s still ver young, very talented and he’s going to work hard to get back at it and develop into an NHL player.

 

the kid is far from a wasted pick. 

Sure hope so, because we certainly can't affiord another 1st pick down the tubes!   

[Petterson649]

That’s too bad. We really needed a dman!!!

[Mustard Tiger]

They said themselves he's a 3+ year development pick lol. Chill 

[Hairy Kneel]

 

[Bounce000]

Are people upset with the pick because they spent hours watching him play, interviewed him, his family, his coaches, studied film of his shifts and decided he’s not a good fit? Or is it because he’s not the guy the person on TV said the Canucks should draft?