We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again…
When Jonathan Lekkerimäki isn’t producing points, Örebro isn’t winning hockey games.
That’s been a common theme throughout the regular season, and that sentiment has officially spilled over into the playoffs.
After a 1-0 overtime defeat, Örebro has dropped the final game of their best-of-three series and has officially been eliminated from the playoff table at the hands of Luleå.
After taking game one, where Lekkerimäki picked up a primary assist, the team failed to score a single goal over the next two matches while being outscored by a 4-0 margin.
Örebro didn’t help their case, taking 51 minutes of penalties over the last two games, forcing them to spend a good portion of their time killing penalties. This included a five-minute major at the tail end of game three.
With that, the sharpshooter’s excellent bounce-back season in the SHL is officially over. As he says goodbye to the Swedish hockey circuit, he leaves with his head high as one of the league’s premier producers at the ripe age of 19.
Across 46 regular season games, he finished fourth in goals league-wide (19) and second in game-winning goals (7) while leading all U23 skaters in total points (29) and second in points per game.
Between the SHL and the World Juniors tournament, Lekkerimäki compiled quite a list of accomplishments:
- WJC Silver Medal
- WJC Most goals (7)
- WJC MVP
- SHL Player of the Month (February)
- Örebro’s 2023-24 team MVP
Now we await the next chapter of his storied season.
With just under two months to go until the IIHF World Championship is set to begin, his options are to stay in Sweden and train for the upcoming event, assuming he is invited. Or, cross the pond early and join the Canucks’ organization, whether that’s to take in the atmosphere before heading back out for Worlds, or suiting up for professional games in North America.
By the sounds of it, the plans are leaning toward him staying. Of course, things can change at the snap of a finger.
If both sides agree, Lekkerimäki would be available to join either the Abbotsford or Vancouver Canucks in their playoff races. However, if we’ve learned anything from this new management regime, they are likely not keen on rushing development. And we love that.
Abbotsford has 12 games remaining on their schedule, with their final game taking place on April 20th.
More must-reads: