The Vancouver Canucks selected six new prospects in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.
There were no fireworks, no big trades, no spike movement, and apart from drafting another Elias Pettersson and being able to pick up Jonathan Lekkerimäki, it was two quiet days for the Canucks.
Let’s look at each of the six prospects the Canucks selected in the draft.
First round: Jonathan Lekkerimäki, SHL / J20 National, RW, 5’11 “, 172 pounds
The youngest player selected in the first round of the draft was none other than Swedish sniper Jonathan Lekkerimäki.
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Explorers are tall for their shooting ability, vision of power play, and agility, but not necessarily their full-speed pace. Lekkerimäki escapes well from the ice and shows the best possible when on the ice with the advantage of man. He scored seven goals in 26 SHL games last season and also scored almost one goal per game in the Swedish J20 league. At some point, I’ll cut back on 20 of his J20 goals, but for now, here’s what his seven SHL goals were like.
Lekkerimäki says he wants to work on his game against the net next season and we look forward to seeing him at the Allsvenskan as his team has just dropped out of the SHL due to relegation. Expect to see lots of videos and GIFs here and on my Twitter channel over the next 12 months.
The Vancouver Giants own their rights and having him play within walking distance of the organization’s offices could be something the team talks to the player about. Fabian Lysell, 21st overall pick in the 2021 draft, went from SHL to WHL and did well with the Giants. Lysell only scored two goals in 26 SHL games during his draft season: he only scored 26 goals and 57 assists (83 points) in 65 games this year in the WHL.
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You should imagine that Lekkerimäki has the potential to be a 100-point scorer in the WHL if he decides to come and play at the Langley Event Center.
Where do you think Lekkerimäki should play next season?
Let us know in the comments.
Third Round: Elias Pettersson, SHL / J20 Nationell, LD, 6’2 ″, 185 pounds
We can’t believe they actually wrote Elias Pettersson. We wrote an article about the possibility and thought he was a player who could go to the fourth round or later and thought it would be a fun swing for the Canucks. Instead, they liked the player enough to catch him in the third round with the 80th overall selection.
And Petey approved ✅ pic.twitter.com/paZGMkLVvx
– Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) July 8, 2022
I immersed myself in the tape again and will have an in-depth breakdown of his game after taking a quick look at February and having it as my ultimate goal. The Canucks like their skating ability, their willingness to do whatever it takes to win, and their strong play in their own end.
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Scouts say he is very physical and has a fluid skating pace.
Petey 2.0, New Elias, nEwlias or EP25 / EP26 / EP2 (brought many different issues) will have a standalone article in the coming days. I’ll have to re-evaluate it when I have time to dive into more tape, but in my initial views, I didn’t see it in the top 100. The Elite Prospects scouting site had him ranked in the 50s and definitely taking the time to evaluate him.
Fourth round: Daimon Gardner, USHS-MN, C / LW, 6’4 ″, 200 pounds
The Canucks went on to size in the fourth round of the draft, picking Minnesota high school player Daimon Gardner. He was a center in the USHS-MN game, but I saw him in the band during the USHL game.
He shows a willingness to go online with force and uses his size well. He looks strong at the point of the net and struggles hard in the corners. Scouts also praise Gardner for his sense of hockey in the defensive zone. He seems to be a player who is willing to work hard to get good goal opportunities and, if developed properly, it will be nice to see what a 21 or 22-year-old is like who will probably go through Abbotsford, as he hopes. One day he arrives in the NHL.
Daimon Gardner will play BCHL’s @Chiefs_Hockey next season, and then head to C. He can be an absolute monster if he develops properly. pic.twitter.com/CuaDMkxyoD
– Daniel Gee (@DanielGScouting) July 8, 2022
“As it turns inward, it adapts to a delayed game, crashing the discs into trailers,” Elite Prospects crossover researcher Daniel Gee wrote in an April report. “Without glances, manipulating the line of the eye to use, Gardner always seems to look for opportunities to defend on offense. Frankly, he’s a monster on the walls, holding and pressing Lincoln’s defenders in fighting breaks … Off the puck, Gardner is a constant rotator, who comes in willingly to help win battles or attack front defenders to create screens.
Elite Prospects had it even higher than Elias Pettersson 2.0, as it ranked 54th on its list. The Canucks could have found some real value here in the fourth round.
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UPDATE: Now it’s time for development, Gardner will play next season in the USHL before making the leap to the NCAA. We’ll see if he stays in the center because in the short time we were watching him at USHL, he was playing on the far left.
Fifth round: Ty Young, WHL, G, 6’3 ″, 183 pounds
This is not for me. I’ve never heard of this kid, but I trust the way Ian Clark makes his contribution to the NHL draft. Quads had some visuals about him after the selection and created a quick thread about him.
I was asked a lot about goalkeeper Ty Young’s #Canucks selection.
I’ve seen a good amount of tape and here’s what I have:
This is a project goalkeeper. I don’t know if I see the same intangible qualities I had in goalkeepers like Silovs and Koskenvuo to build on.
– David Quadrelli (@QuadreIli) July 8, 2022
We’ll have more Quads in Sunday’s episode of the Canucks talk podcast!
Expect a lot more about Young during next week’s development camp.
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Sixth round: Jackson Dorrington, USHL, LD, 6’2 ″, 192 pounds
This one also surprised us a bit as one of the defenses we really like, Elmeri Laakso was still available in the draft. Instead, the Canucks went with the USHL defender who will join another Canucks prospect, Aidan McDonough, in the Northeastern next season. McDonough will be his captain next season and I had a quick chat with the Northeastern captain after the selection.
“He’s a fantastic kid with a very high character,” McDonough said. “I’m excited they chose him.”
The Huskies have a young defensive core next season and Dorrington will have a chance to jump and play in front of the best NCAA goalie in Devon Levi. The Northeast has its eyes set on a national championship next season and will be relying on Dorrington to have an immediate impact and a pure freshman this fall.
We’ll see how this kid plays in the development camp.
ICYMI: Enjoy some highlights from former #NCDC outfielder @juniorbruins Jackson Dorrington, who was selected in the sixth round, the 176th overall, by the @Canucks. Congratulations again, Jackson! pic.twitter.com/h3nLPzoxwQ
– USPHL (@USPHL) July 8, 2022
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We’ll be pleasantly surprised if he can get a role in the top four with Northeastern next season and have a lot of videos of him next season, as we’ll see the Huskies for his captain Aidan McDonough before he makes his leap to professional at the conclusion of his season in the NCAA.
Seventh round: Kirill Kudryavtsev, OHL, LD, 6’0 ″, 200 pounds
Another player who surprised a bit, the Canucks selected a Russian import to the CHL, Kirill Kudryavtsev.
From what we heard on the draft track, there is a lot to like about how the disc moves on the ice and you also rely on your own area. He scored five goals and added 34 assists last season with the Soo Greyhounds.
Together with Pettersson, we will have an independent article on Kudryavtsec after putting the work on his tape.
Elite Prospects called him “one of the smartest activators in the draft,” and that makes me excited to dive into the tape and see what the hype is all about. Scouts say you have to make decisions faster, you have to be better at your pivots and the first steps you need to work on. His transfer seems to be the most intriguing part of his game and we will surely focus on his report.
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If there’s one thing we love about here at CanucksArmy, it’s the seventh-round pick. We will surely see what Kudryavtsev is all about and present the report to you in the coming days.
The Canucks start the development camp on Sunday with some testing and will be on the ice Monday for their first session of camp. We will inform you of all the news of the camp. The canucks have 19 forwards, 12 defenders and four goalkeepers in the squad.
Thanks to all the readers, commenters, and people who share our articles or watch our YouTube videos. You all made it possible for me to attend my first draft as an accredited member of the media and our bosses were very happy with the draft coverage. We look forward to doing this for a long time here at CanucksArmy.
Once again, thank you so much everyone!
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It’s time to dive into the tape of Pettersson and Kudryavtsev, see you in the coming days.