Two Vancouver Canucks Land on The NHL's Best U23 Players & Prospect Rankings
The Athletic has released their mid-season edition of their Best U23 Players & Prospect Rankings, with a pair of Vancouver Canucks among those mentioned.
Across North America and Europe, we've hit the half-way mark of the season in a good majority of leagues and it's a good time to take a look at how certain players and prospects have been playing up to this point.
For the Vancouver Canucks, while it's been an up-and-down season, a number of their prospects are enjoying plenty of success throughout the 2024-25 campaign including Tom Willander and
Jonathan Lekkerimaki.
Tom Willander & Jonathan Lekkerimaki land on The Athletic's Rankings
Pronman cites his Willander's skating as his biggest asset and says that he projects to be a top-four defenseman in the National Hockey League, which is music to the ears of Vancouver Canucks fans.
"Willander has been a very important player for Boston University and Sweden's U20 team this season, logging a lot of all-situation minutes. His skating is his main asset. He has a quick, powerful skating stride and can push the pace up ice with the puck. Willander's skating allows him to close on checks well and be a quality defender, especially when combined with some physicality in his game. Offensively, he's solid. He shows some blue-line poise and can make skilled plays with the puck and hit seams, although I don't see a true NHL power-play type. Willander projects as a two-way top-four defenseman." Pronman said.
Lekkerimaki has been solid for the American Hockey League's Abbotsford Canucks this season, registering a team-leading 12 goals and five assists in 21 games, but it's clear that he's getting closer to a full-time role in the National Hockey League.
While Lekkerimaki may be on the NHL roster for the time being, it wouldn't be a shock to see him back in Abbotsford at some point this season for more seasoning ahead of a big year in 2025-26 where it's expected he'll take a sizeable step in his development.
Previously on CanucksDaily
POLL |
JANVIER 14 | 169 ANSWERS Two Vancouver Canucks Land on The NHL's Best U23 Players & Prospect Rankings Do you think should be ranked higher than 68th by The Athletic? |
Yes, absolutely | 113 | 66.9 % |
No, it's the right spot for him right now | 56 | 33.1 % |
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