VANCOUVER — Conor Garland phones his dad, Garry, back home in Boston, nearly every day. And on their call before Fridayâ€s game, the Vancouver Canucks winger was raving to his pops about this kid on the team, Jonathan Lekkerimaki,.
“I told my dad on the phone, I can’t believe the jump Lekkerimaki has taken,†Garland explained. “Itâ€s confidence. The shotâ€s the shot; that’s his gift. You know, everybody has a gift. But I think the rest of his game has come a long way.
“I’m not an evaluator, but I just feel like he’s a lot more confident. Three days ago in practice, five-on-five drill in the zone, he just had the puck and was moving with it. Maybe last year. . . he was not being as decisive. I think he can notice it. Heâ€s going to be a big-time player for us. It’s huge that he’s taken a great step for us.â€
Imagine what tomorrowâ€s phone call will be like.
In the Canucks†final pre-season game, in Lekkerimakiâ€s final audition as the 21-year-old tries to make the roster for the start of the National Hockey League season, the Swedish winger blistered a pair of one-timer past Edmonton Oilers†goalie Calvin Pickard as Vancouver rallied to win 3-2 in overtime at Rogers Arena.
Garland scored the beautiful winner, cutting past Leon Draisaitl and underneath Connor McDavid to tuck the puck around Pickard, capping 90 seconds of Canuck possession at three-on-three.
However Vancouver coaches and management decide to configure their roster to be NHL-compliant on Monday, likely stashing some players in the minors because they do not require waivers, it seems impossible that Lekkerimaki wonâ€t be part of the opening-night group when the Calgary Flames visit the Canucks next Thursday.
On a team that started training camp with the objective of finding ways to be more offensive, Lekkerimakiâ€s two slappers on Friday in the full dress rehearsal are indicative of the offensive weapon they are developing in the 2022 first-round pick who scored 19 times in 36 games in the American Hockey League last season.
“Oh, he can rip it,†Canuck Jake DeBrusk said, then compared Lekkerimakiâ€s shot to former Boston teammate David Pastrnakâ€s. “He reminds me of Pasta in some ways. Just his release, right? Pastaâ€s got a little more flare at the end, but the way it comes off his stick. . . you guys saw it tonight.â€
Pickard saw them, but couldnâ€t keep the pucks out of his net as Lekkerimaki zipped one high glove to open scoring with 9.3 seconds remaining in the first period, then overpowered the goalie stick-side on a power play to make it 2-2 at 5:58 of the third.
Another player everybody saw was Braeden Cootes, Vancouver’s 2025 first-rounder who has stubbornly refused to play his way off the team and in his first NHL training camp seems poised to be the first 18-year-old to make the Canucks since Petr Nedved did it in 1990.
Cootes shielded the puck and slid it Lekkerimaki on the opening goal. The prospects were partnered with veteran ex-Oiler Evander Kane.
Canucks head coach Adam Foote and his staff deliberately did not try to “hide†their kids on Friday, and Lekkerimaki and Cootes were hanging on a couple of shifts against McDavid and Draisaitl. But the prospects both finished with 65 per cent expected-goals-for at five-on-five.
The auditioners on defence, a prospects pairing of Elias Pettersson (Junior) and Tom Willander, had a harder time territorially and surrendered a goal to Oiler Kasperi Kapanen on a four-on-two rush in the second period. But they havenâ€t looked overwhelmed since training camp began, although it feels like prospect Victor Mancini, who did not dress Friday, finished ahead of them in the blue-line battle.
None of the three are subject to waivers, so could be designated for the AHL on Monday if hockey-ops wants to protect extra forwards on the NHL roster. But all three of Mancini, Pettersson and Willander will play for the Canucks this season.
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The team finished Footeâ€s first pre-season as head coach at 4-2 and, clearly, built momentum as the players incorporated the coaching staffâ€s instructions to play faster and more aggressively.
“I think it looks really sharp,†Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko said after stopping 25 of 27 Oiler shots. “You can tell guys are on the same page. And that’s a credit to our staff, credit to the guys that have been putting in a lot of work. The continuity of the team out there seems really strong.
“Obviously, a good team over there (with Edmonton) — a couple of good players. I thought we played with confidence. We played our game. We didn’t kind of sit around and wait to see what they were going to do, so itâ€s really encouraging.â€
The positive vibes emanating from the Canuck dressing room are in stark contrast to the dark mood that accompanied the tumult of last season.
“From a team standpoint — and I know anything I say, it’s going to be directed back to last year — we are a tight, tight group,†Garland said. “We feel like we’re having a lot of fun every day. You guys can see in practice, like, it’s energetic, it looks sharp. A lot of fun during the games. I feel like we’re playing really fast, kind of doing everything weâ€ve talked about with Footy. But again, Thursday night, everything kind of changes.â€
“You take it for what it is,†DeBrusk said. “But as a team in here, the way we came back (tonight) and just the way we kind of stuck to our game was why we have training camp. That was what our focuses were. So, we’re listening and we were seeing results.â€
Starting Thursday, the results count.
FRIDAYâ€S CANUCKS LINEUP
DeBrusk-Pettersson-Boeser
Bains-Chytil-Garland
Kane-Cootes-Lekkerimaki
Oâ€Connor-Blueger-Sherwood
Hughes-Hronek
M. Pettersson-Myers
Pettersson (Junior)-Willander
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