The Vancouver Canucks could be reaping the benefits of their 2022 Draft class in the next couple of seasons. Despite the rollercoaster and overall disappointing 2024-25 campaign, there are three prospects in the form of Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Elias Pettersson and Kirill Kudryavtsev that the organization can point to as positives to come out of it. They have all had solid seasons in their first go-around in the professional leagues and appear to be destined for long NHL careers and maybe even part of the next core led by (hopefully) Quinn Hughes.
Jonathan Lekkerimaki Emerging as Future NHL Sniper
Lekkerimaki has come a long way from the disappointing draft-plus-one season that saw him battle injuries and underwhelming play (at least until the HockeyAllsvenskan Playoffs, where his turnaround began). He only had three goals and nine points in 29 games in the regular season before popping off for five goals and 15 points in the playoffs, leading his team to a silver medal.
After that, Lekkerimaki was moved to Orebro in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and picked up where he left off, showcasing his lethal wrist shot/one-timer, not only for Orebro but Team Sweden at the 2024 World Juniors. He finished his swan song in the SHL with the most goals (19) and points (31) by a junior, and was named the SHL Rookie of the Year and Swedish Junior Hockey Player of the Year. He also shone at the World Juniors with a tournament-leading seven goals, winning the MVP Award and being named to the WJC All-Star Team and, of course, a top-three player on Sweden.
Lekkerimaki then made the trek to North America where he joined the Abbotsford Canucks until the end of the season. He ended up playing six games with the American Hockey League (AHL) club and hit two major milestones, his first goal and assist. Fast-forward to this season, and Lekkerimaki has not only thrived in the AHL with 19 goals and 28 points in 32 games, but the NHL as well, scoring his first three goals in Canucks colours and suiting up for 21 games (and counting) so far.
Lekkerimaki is still adjusting to life in the NHL, where he doesn’t get as much room to unleash his elite shot. But he seems to be improving every day, gaining the confidence of his head coach, Rick Tocchet, enough to put him on the first-unit power play in place of the injured Elias Pettersson. He has also been featured in the shootout recently, going one for two. In his first-career attempt, he used his deceptive wrist shot to fool former Canuck Jacob Markstrom and opted to go for a deke in his second attempt against Ilya Sorokin, which was stopped.
All in all, while Lekkerimaki has had his growing pains in the league so far, the potential that scouts were raving about before the 2022 Draft seems to be justified. The shot has come as advertised, and once he bulks up and learns how to slip into open spaces in coverage where he can get it off cleanly on a goaltender, he will score in bunches – likely hitting 20–30 goals regularly, a la Markus Naslund in his prime.
Elias Pettersson Making a Name For Himself as Calm Two-Way Defenceman
Drafted 65 spots after Lekkerimaki was Pettersson, aka D-Petey, or as Tocchet likes to call him, Junior. Currently, one of only two players drafted in the third round to have played a game in the NHL so far, he has quickly made a name for himself as a calm, effective, and mostly unnoticeable two-way defenceman. For a defender at any level, being unnoticeable is a good thing, which means they’re not making any mistakes. The only time you know he’s on the ice is when he’s leveling someone with a big hit, or, as fans have found out over his first 19 games, jumping up in the play and getting shots on goal. When he’s not doing those things, he’s just doing his job, defending or moving the puck crisply out of his zone.
Like Lekkerimaki, Pettersson began his pro career last season when he suited up for eight games in Abbotsford after his HockeyAllsvenskan season was over. He recorded two assists in those eight games and began this season in the AHL, where he established himself as a trusted defender for new head coach Manny Malhotra.
“You don’t know what to expect from a 20-year-old beginning his pro career, but from day one he’s been very poised with the puck and knew exactly who he was as a player…He didn’t come in trying to be something he wasn’t, and he stuck to that game plan. He’s physical, he kills plays, and he advances pucks on breakouts. The way he’s started and continued that process throughout the season so far has been a very pleasant surprise for us.”
And that’s exactly what Pettersson has done for the parent club since his first game on Jan. 25, 2025, against the Washington Capitals. He has come in and seamlessly adjusted to the NHL level, even taking on top-pairing duties with Filip Hronek when Quinn Hughes was injured. Overall, he’s been one of the biggest positives to come out of this rollercoaster, mostly disappointing, season so far.
Kirill Kudryavtsev Having a Solid Rookie Season in the AHL
Finally, there’s Kudryavtsev, drafted all the way down in the seventh round (208th overall). While he hasn’t played in the NHL yet like Lekkerimaki and Pettersson have, he is having an eye-opening rookie season in Abbotsford. As of this writing, he has four goals and 24 points in 57 games, alongside a team-leading plus-13 in the plus/minus column. Not too bad for a guy that was 17 picks away from being undrafted.
Kudryavtsev has steadily risen in the Canucks’ prospect ranks since being drafted. It started in his draft-plus-one year when he scored a career-high eight goals and 50 points with the Soo Greyhounds and continued in his final season, where he nearly matched it with 47 points. More importantly, he improved defensively, increasing his plus/minus from minus-15 to plus-29. Moving to the pro ranks this season, it wasn’t a guarantee that he was going to play full-time in the AHL. But through hard work and a consistent game, he has endeared himself to the coaching staff and has become an integral part of the Abbotsford blue line this season.
“The biggest asset for Kirill’s game is his hockey sense. He’s a very cerebral player. He sees the game very well,” said [assistant coach Jordan] Smith. “He generally makes good decisions, and that’s allowed him to quietly do his job, work his way into the lineup, and find himself in the top six on the defence depth chart. Credit goes to him for putting in the work in the offseason and for developing and being able to play at this level. And then also to sustain it is an indication of the work he’s put in.”
With how well Kudryavtsev has played so far in his AHL career, it’s only a matter of time before he debuts in the NHL. It won’t come this season, but given his work ethic and constant desire to improve his game, I would not be surprised to see NHL games on his resume come this time next season.
2022 Draft Could Produce a Big Part of the Next Core
It’s been an encouraging season for three of the Canucks’ homegrown prospects. In the case of Lekkerimaki and Pettersson, it appears they will be NHL players for the foreseeable future and might even be big parts of the new core led by Hughes. With Kudryavstev, the jury is still out, but his encouraging rookie season should have fans optimistic as well. If all goes according to plan, this trio could factor into the success of the Canucks in the future, and they will have the 2022 Draft to thank for it.
