Head shot to Lekkerimäki leaves Canucks top prospect with concussion: report
The news has gone from bad to worse regarding Vancouver Canucks top prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki.
The 2022-23 season has been a dud for Lekkerimäki, who was taken 15th overall in the first round of the NHL Draft by Vancouver in July. The 18-year-old winger has just one goal and four assists through the first 20 games with Djurgårdens IF, playing in the Allsvenskan — the second division of Swedish pro hockey.
And now, Lekkerimäki is injured.
The 5-foot-11 forward has entered concussion protocol following a hit to the head, according to a report from Chris Faber of Canucks Army. Lekkerimäki spun away from a Västerås IK defenceman Jimmie Jansson in the corner, only to be hit high by forward Anton Svensson.
Svensson is only listed at 5-foot-8 and 170 pounds but is a seasoned pro at 29 years old.
Canucks #1 draft pick Jonathan Lekkerimäki is dealing with a concussion.
Djurgardens GM K-J Stoppel : He is doing much better, he is in the concussion program, hard to say how long he will be out.
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) November 29, 2022
It could be especially rough timing for Lekkerimäki, with the World Juniors less than a month away.
He was thought to be a lock for Team Sweden, given he scored three points (0-3-3) in seven games at the 2022 tournament.
Lekkerimäki’s production is down from last season, when he was playing at a higher level in the Swedish Hockey League. He scored seven goals and added two assists in 26 games in his draft year at that level.
In hindsight, you have to wonder if Canucks management secretly regrets taking a winger with their first-round draft pick, given four defencemen were taken in the second half of the draft.
Lekkerimäki's start of the season with context:
-Averaging 12:19 (2:03PP). Has to produce better with the odd-man time, but shifts have large time gaps in-between.
-He's still pushing habits that indicate scoring at other levels. Manipulations, 1-touches (continued) pic.twitter.com/QrjzjkFWps— Daniel Gee (@DanielGScouting) November 15, 2022
There’s a lot of time for Lekkerimäki to turn things around, but the early returns have to be concerning. Plus, adding a concussion to the mix isn’t helping.