Canucks prospects lead the AHL, OHL, and SHL in scoring right now
There’s a new level of optimism surrounding the Vancouver Canucks organization these days and it spreads far beyond just the NHL level.
Players affiliated with the club are dominating their respective leagues all around the world. In fact, Canucks prospects currently lead the OHL, AHL, and SHL in at least one major scoring category.
-OHL points leader
-AHL points leader
-SHL goals leaderTidy from the #Canucks prospect pool.
via @TheAHL and @eliteprospects pic.twitter.com/HB0WnRhsvp
— đđ”đżđ¶đ Faber đ„ (@ChrisFaber39) October 30, 2023
In the OHL, recent third-round draft pick Hunter Brzustewicz continues to tear up the league. He has 25 points in 13 games, giving him a two-point lead on the second-place Carson Rehkopf.
While it’s an impressive feat to lead the OHL in scoring, the fact that Brzustewicz is currently doing it as a defenceman makes it all the more wild. After he was held without one in the first game of the season, he has recorded a point in 12 straight matchups. Over that time frame, he has six games with at least three points.
Hunter Brzustewicz is a different animal this season đ±@OHLRangers | @Canucks pic.twitter.com/A0BI7h4iX7
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) October 20, 2023
Moving to the AHL, winger Arshdeep Bains currently leads the league in points. In a league filled with players on the cusp of making the NHL, Bains is the one who stands above them all with 13 points in eight games.
The Surrey-born Bains has continued to improve at a rapid pace ever since signing with the Canucks in March 2022.
He has shown an impressive ability to make quick progress at all levels. For example, despite being undrafted in the WHL, he would eventually lead the league in scoring. He continues to disprove people who underestimate him.
Power Play Bains, reporting for duty đ«Ą pic.twitter.com/gae7O7jmyR
— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) October 26, 2023
With the way that he has been scoring, Bains is definitely high on the list of potential call-ups should any Canucks forward suffer an injury.
Finally, 2022 first-round draft pick Jonathan Lekkerimaki has had a red-hot start to the season. It’s been a great bounce back after a disappointing season last year following being selected with the 15th overall pick.
Jonathan LekkerimĂ€ki scores his 8th goal of the season. A deft handle on the entry allows him to split the defenders â leverages his shot once again. #Canucks
pic.twitter.com/Dt9BMRpuJP— Daniel Gee (@DanielGScouting) October 28, 2023
While he’s not leading the SHL in points, Lekkerimaki does have a share of the goals lead with eight through the first 14 games of the season. That’s good for 0.57 goals per game. To put that number in context, Elias Pettersson scored 0.55 goals per game during his lone SHL season, although he did in the year directly after being drafted.
He’s scoring all sorts of goals as he’s been picking corners with his lethal wrist shot, setting up on the power play, and breaking past the defence. He will need all of those skills to translate his game to the North American ice.
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