Building Blue: Vilmer Alriksson Prepares for Second OHL Season with an NHL Contract in his Back Pocket

Every year, hundreds of NHL draft picks aim to impress their general manager enough to earn an entry-level contract and take another step closer to achieving their goal and playing in the NHL.

Vilmer Alriksson earned that impressive honour last week as he inked a three-year entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks.

The 2023 fourth-round pick impressed at Canucks development camp, and then at the Young Stars Invitational before catching the eye of head coach Rick Tocchet at Canucks main camp.

Standing at 6’6” and weighing 235 pounds, Alriksson is easy to spot on the ice, and I can confirm that he has made at least one 6’3” Senior Hockey Writer feel small when Alriksson was standing in skates with him to chat about how the past few weeks have gone with the Canucks.

“It was really fun playing in the preseason against players [that you] looked up to when you were growing up,” said Alriksson. “It was also a lot of fans. So, it was really fun.”

Alriksson said he enjoyed his experience in his preseason games, but some of his family back home was not having as much fun due to the shock of seeing Alriksson drop the gloves for just the second time in his life. The fact that it was also 4:30 a.m. in Sweden and the family was just getting up to watch him play didn’t help.

“I think my mom got a little scared, but they were just proud of me and my debut,” said Alriksson with a laugh.

Alriksson got in one fight last season in the OHL. In his first preseason game with the Canucks, he dropped the gloves with veteran John Hayden, who has 42 career fights in the NHL.

The 19-year-old saw improvement through his first OHL season and has been able to come to North America and find comfort in his unfamiliar environment. Alriksson didn’t speak English extremely well when he was drafted by the Canucks in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft but a full season in Guelph, Ontario has helped him speak with much more confidence.

Alriksson gives credit to his billet family, his teammates, the Storm’s management team, and his Canucks’ development coaches for helping him feel comfortable which helped him improve his English.

In terms of the on-ice development, Tocchet quickly noted the progression in Alriksson’s game from when he saw him in Victoria at last year’s camp.

“He was doing stuff that the development team talked to him last year about and I was like ‘Oh my god,’ he’s gone from here to here,” said Tocchet as motioned a bar being raised with his hands.

Alriksson said that it was really good to hear Tocchet say that about his development and that he’s going to be able to showcase even more in the OHL this coming season.

“I will have a bigger role this year. We had a lot of older guys last year, so my role will be bigger this year with more power play and more minutes. I look forward to it,” said Alriksson.

“I expect a lot more. I want to take big steps, but I want to take it day-for-day and just do my best every day.”

The 19-year-old is now back in the OHL and will play his second season with the Guelph Storm. Alriksson scored 17 goals and added 16 assists in 67 games with the Storm last season and is looking to make a big jump as he is rewarded with more minutes in his sophomore OHL season.

The expectation is for Alriksson to be able to work his way onto special teams' units and be a top-six contributor for the Storm.

Development-wise, it helps that this is not the first 6’6” winger that the Storm have helped develop.

Alexey Toropchenko played in all 82 games last season with the St. Louis Blues and in an equivalent way to Alriksson; Toropchenko played for the Storm when he made his way over from Europe.

Toropchenko and Alriksson each scored 17 goals in their first OHL season and Alriksson is hoping that his 2024-25 Storm team can go on a run like Toropchenko’s 2018-19 Storm team did – running the table in the OHL playoffs and winning their way into the Memorial Cup.

For now, Alriksson has earned himself an ELC with the Canucks and will focus on making a substantial impact with the Storm this season. Alriksson wants to continue to grow his confidence and prepare for the pro game.

With the support of the Canucks development coaches and the confidence of an entry-level contract from the management team, Alriksson is primed to continue developing into the player that this organization hopes he can one day be.