Vancouver Canucks Zero In on New 2025 First-Round Draft Prospect
Photo credit: Djurgardens IF
A new draft target has emerged for the Vancouver Canucks to use the 15th overall selection on, if Patrik Allvin decides to keep it, rather than trading it ahead of the first round on Friday, June 27th.
We're a little over two weeks away from the start of the National Hockey League's 2025 Entry Draft in Los Angeles, California and for a number of teams, specifically those picking in the top-five, they have some big, potentially franchise-altering decisions to make.
Later on in the first round, the Vancouver Canucks will be selecting 15th overall, somewhere they're very familiar with after taking Jonathan Lekkerimaki with that pick back in 2022 and if the team opts to hold onto the pick, a new target has been mentioned.
New first round target mentioned in recent The Athletic mock draft
Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, who is one of the best prospect analysts in hockey, released his latest 2025 NHL Mock Draft, which features his predictions for each of the 32 selections in the first round.
The New York Islanders, who have the first overall pick, select defenceman Matthew Schaefer of the Erie Otters in Wheeler's mock draft, while San Jose takes Michael Misa (Saginaw Spirit - OHL) and Chicago selects Anton Frondell (Djurgardens IF - Sweden) to round out the top-three.
While many believe the Vancouver Canucks will trade the 15th overall pick, especially after their top brass skipped the Draft Combine in Buffalo last week, if Patrik Allvin decides that he wants to keep it, there are going to be a handful of players for him to choose from later this month.
In Scott Wheeler's mock draft, he has the Vancouver Canucks selecting Swedish right winger Victor Eklund with the 15th overall pick.
Wheeler said that after speaking with scouts recently, they believe Eklund will be available later into the first round than many were expecting and that if he's still around at 15th overall, he's a player that the Canucks should be picking.
"The sense I got from a couple of scouts I talked to at the combine was that Eklund is going to be available later than people in the public sphere think. But the Canucks feel like the floor for Eklund. I think they're also the start of Cameron Reid's range. I could also see them targeting a left-shot winger like Bear or Lakovic, or a center like Braeden Cootes (Cootes is expected to go 15-20 and had dinner at the combine with the Canucks)." Wheeler said.
Eklund, 18, spent the 2024-25 season with Djurgardens IF in HockeyAllsvenskan - the second division of professional hockey in Sweden - and he was incredible, playing a big role for the club at such a young age.
The Stockholm native finished the year with 31 points (19 goals, 12 assists) in 42 regular season games, along with seven points in 16 postseason contests, helping Djurgardens IF earn promotion back to the Swedish Hockey League for the first time since the 2021-22 campaign.
Eklund has a bit of work to do development-wise and will be returning to Sweden for the 2025-26 season and should be on his nation's roster for the 2026 IIHF World Juniors in Minnesota.
As for an ETA on when Victor Eklund could be ready to play in the National Hockey League, the latter stages of the 2026-27 season seems most likely, if not early on in the 2027-28 campaign.
If Vancouver keeps their pick and uses it on Eklund, they'll want him to acclimate to the North American game once he makes the jump and could follow a similar path to that of his fellow countryman Jonathan Lekkerimaki.
Previously on CanucksDaily
| POLL | ||
JUIN 9 | 1383 ANSWERS Vancouver Canucks Zero In on New 2025 First-Round Draft Prospect Do you think the Vancouver Canucks should use the 15th overall selection on Victor Eklund? | ||
| Yes, if they keep the pick | 608 | 44 % |
| No, draft a centerman instead | 775 | 56 % |
| List of polls | ||
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