SportsHockeyCanucks

4 Canucks prospects having a great start to the 2023-24 season

Noah Strang
Noah Strang
|
Oct 13 2023, 6:55 pm
4 Canucks prospects having a great start to the 2023-24 season
OHLRangers/X

The NHL players aren’t the only ones inside the Vancouver Canucks organization to have gotten off to a hot start.

Some of the Canucks top prospects have been showing out through the first few games of their respective seasons.

Here are four players in the Canucks organization who have gotten off to fast starts this year.

1. Jonathan Lekkerimaki

Team: Orebro HK (SHL)
Position: Right wing
Age: 19
Stats: 9 GP, 5 G, 1 A, 6 PTS

After a disappointing 2022-23 season, Jonathan Lekkerimaki has turned things around in his second year since being drafted. He has five goals and one assist for six points through nine games in the SHL, the top men’s league in Sweden.

His five goals are just one behind the league lead, an impressive feat for a 19-year-old in what is one of the best hockey leagues around the globe.

Lekkerimaki’s best tool is his powerful wrist shot that he can unleash with a moment’s notice. He projects to be one of the rare players who can beat a goalie cleanly without needing a screen.

There are still concerns that need to be addressed. Namely, his ability to penetrate the middle of the defence to get to dangerous areas in the offensive zone. However, it’s been a great start to the season for a player that desperately needed one.

2. Hunter Brzustewicz

Team: Kitchener (OHL)
Position: Defence
Age: 18
Stats: 5 GP, 2 G, 5 A, 7 PTS

Selected in the third round of the most recent NHL Draft, Hunter Brzustewicz is the Canucks’ top right-handed defence prospect. The 19-year-old has gotten off to a fast start in the OHL, scoring two goals and adding five assists through just five games.

He’s very good at creating offence by activating the puck up ice, either with his legs or with a crisp pass.

As a 19-year-old and an NHL draft pick, Brzustewicz is expected to be a leader for the Kitchener Rangers this season. Having a successful season will not only mean continuing this torrid point pace but also rounding out his game and stepping up as a leader.

3. Ty Young

Team: Prince George (WHL)
Position: Goaltender
Age: 19
Stats: 6 GP, 5-1-0, 2.36 GAA, .903 SV%

When the Canucks selected Ty Young in the 2022 NHL Draft, some fans scratched their heads. Why was an NHL team interested in a goalie who was coming off a WHL season with a sub .900 save percentage and a 3.50 goals-against-average?

Young is now starting to prove that the Canucks were right to take a chance on him. He’s been one of the best goalies across the WHL through the early part of the season, posting a 5-1-0 record and a 2.36 goals-against-average.

These results are night and day from last season, when Young finished with a 3.89 goals-against-average and a 0.889 save percentage.

4. Elias Pettersson

Team: Multiple teams
Position: Defence
Age: 19
Stats: 11 GP, 0 G, 10 A, 10 PTS

The younger Elias Pettersson has already played in three different leagues so far this year. He’s played in the SHL on the same team as Lekkerimaki, the Allsvenskan, and the U20 Swedish league.

When playing against his own age group, “D-Petey” has been very strong. He has seven points in four games at the U20 level, scoring almost two points per game.

Even when playing in the Allsvenskan, the second-highest-ranked men’s league in Sweden, Pettersson scored three points in four games.

“D-Petey” started off this season with an impressive showing at the Canucks’ development camp, where he was among the most impressive players.

The key for Pettersson is getting opportunities and ice time, something which has proven difficult at the SHL level. For now, it’s likely best for his development if he continues to play a larger role at lower levels, which he has shown he is very capable of doing.

ADVERTISEMENT