There were plenty of storylines which came out of the Vancouver Canucks' 3-1 win on Tuesday night versus the Calgary Flames. These included just the second victory on home ice this season, Elias Pettersson's best performance yet in 2024-25 -- on his birthday no less -- and Kevin Lankinen rebounding tremendously from the seven-goal debacle against the Edmonton Oilers.
Another storyline worthy of note, was the NHL debut of Jonathan Lekkerimäki. Called up to help cover for the injury loss of Brock Boeser, the 2022 15th overall draft pick finally got a piece of the action at the highest level.
Lekkerimäki initially looked a little tentative, which is in no way a criticism of someone playing in their first NHL regular season. However, he got over this very quickly and starting getting more involved.
Not overwhelmed by the moment
Known for his calm and poise, the 20-year-old was just this, at times looking like anything but an NHL rookie. It spoke volumes about the trust and confidence Canucks coach Rick Tocchet had in the young man, to put him on the first line with J.T. Miller and Pius Suter.
At the same time there was also a method to the madness (in a manner of speaking), in having Lekkerimäki playing with who he did. Speaking to the media after the game, Tocchet said:
""That was great by Millsy on that line, and Pius, to help him out. When you communicate with a young guy all the time, it really helps. I've got to give those guys a lot of credit.""
Statistically-speaking, the Sweden native's debut might not jump out at people, but he did still manage to produce two shots. He would also record one hit and have two giveaways, as he played 20 shifts, saw time on the power play and amassed 14:07 of ice time.
Aside from the numbers, Lekkerimäki looked good with the simple eye test. He worked hard, didn't shy away from the physical side, had some nice passes and showed excellent hustle.
Fellow Canucks like what they see from Lekkerimaki
There was plenty of praise from others on the team, impressed with how the winger played on the night. As per Iain MacInyre of Sportsnet, Miller said:
""Yeah, he played really well today. Makes a lot of little subtle plays. He played fast. He seemed to be in the right spot most of the time. So really good, I'm very impressed. And hopefully he can get more and more comfortable as we go.""
Tocchet also enjoyed what he saw, and we know he doesn't hand out compliments for the sake of it. He said:
""There’s definitely a lot there to like. (He's a) smart player. When he has the puck, there’s not a lot of panic, and he’s going to get better. He goes to the right spots and did a really nice job. A lot of stuff to build off, because you can tell he has good poise.""
A special night
As for Lekkerimäki himself, he was happy to have his parents in attendance at Rogers Arena. Speaking about his debut, as per Ben Kuzma of The Province, he said:
""I felt pretty good, a little nervous. It was a great opportunity to step on the ice and do my thing. It was a special moment and I tried to enjoy it and have fun. I just tried to get in there as fast as possible and work hard.""
Perhaps the biggest compliment of the night for Lekkerimäki, was being compared to Boeser on the power play by Tocchet. With his shot, he's projected to be an explosive scorer in the NHL when he gets going.
There was a bit of a reality check on Wednesday morning, when the 2024 World Junior Championship MVP was assigned back to Abbotsford, along with Aatu Räty and Arshdeep Bains. However, this is more than likely just to cotinue the Canucks' goal of accruing cap space.
As such, expect to see Lekkerimäki recalled on Thursday, for that night's game against the New York Islanders. This is just the beginning of what could be a very special NHL career, something which Canucks fans should be extremely excited about.