Canucks Sign Jonathan Lekkerimäki to Three-Year, Entry-Level Contract

Vancouver, B.C. - Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the club has signed forward Jonathan Lekkerimäki to a three-year, entry-level contract.

"Jonathan had a good run in the playoffs and gained a lot of valuable experience but unfortunately his team fell short of its ultimate goal," said Allvin. "Each player's development path is different and in Jonathan's case, he had to deal with a lot of adversity this past year. But with each challenge he faced, he found a way to learn and grow. With the help of our staff, we will find the best path forward for him and we look forward to Jonathan joining our development camp in July."

Lekkerimäki, 18, recently completed the 2022.23 season with Djurgårdens IF of HockeyAllsvenskan in Sweden, helping the team reach game seven of the league's playoff finals. In 15 playoff games, he produced at a point-per-game pace, registering 15 points (5-10-15) for a share of fourth in Allsvenskan playoff scoring and ranking third among Djurgårdens skaters, just one point shy of the team lead.

During the finals series against Modo Hockey, Lekkerimäki strung together a five-game point streak from games two through six, posting eight points (2-6-8) during that stretch. His streak included a four-assist performance in game four, the game-winning goal in game five, and an assist on the game-tying goal to in game six to force overtime and an eventual game seven.

The 5'11", 172-pound winger also appeared in 29 regular season games with Djurgårdens, recording nine points (3-6-9) and four penalty minutes before suffering a regular season-ending injury in February. Lekkerimäki previously split the 2021.22 season between the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and J20 Nationell league, both with Djurgårdens IF. He collected nine points (7-2-9) in SHL play and 35 points (20-15-35) with the J20 club, accumulating 26 regular season games played in each league.

A native of Tullinge, Sweden, Lekkerimäki helped guide his country to multiple medals in 2022, including gold at the U18 World Championship, where he led the tournament in scoring (5-10-15 in six games), and bronze at the World Junior Championships (1-3-4 in seven games).

Lekkerimäki was originally selected by Vancouver in the first round, 15th overall, at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.