The Vancouver Canucks strengthened their prospect pool at the 2023 NHL Draft with 11th overall pick Tom Willander and several other intriguing later-round picks. However, they are still toiling at the bottom of the league when it comes to the quality of their farm system. In a recent ranking of drafted prospects by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, no Canucks prospects appeared in the top 50, but Willander, Aatu Raty, and Jonathan Lekkerimaki were honorable mentions (from ‘Ranking the top 50 drafted NHL prospects: Connor Bedard leads Scott Wheeler’s summer 2023 list’, The Athletic, 7/18/23).
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That’s progress, but for the Canucks to transform into a consistent playoff team and hopefully Stanley Cup favorite one day, a few of their top youngsters need to step up and become impact NHL players – and soon. With that said, here are three prospects that need to take a huge step forward this season in their development.
Aatu Raty
Acquired alongside Anthony Beauvillier in the Bo Horvat trade, Raty has the potential to become a solid top-nine center in the NHL. With his 6-foot-2, 190-pound frame and two-way game, he could be the solution to the third-line center problem the Canucks have had since the departure of Manny Malhotra way back in 2012-13. There’s a reason why he was in the conversation as a first-overall pick in 2021. In addition to his ability to play the entire length of the ice, he was touted for his skating, puck handling, and shot during his draft year, which are all hallmarks of an elite NHL center.
While Raty was projected to go in the first round by many outlets in 2021 (including me), he surprisingly fell to the middle of the second round and was ultimately selected by the New York Islanders at 52nd overall. Described as a steal by draft experts afterward, he further proved that notion with his standout performance at the 2022 World Juniors where he recorded three goals and 10 points in seven games and led Finland to a silver medal.
Since then, Raty has turned pro in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, made his NHL debut, scored his first two goals with the Islanders – his second was coincidentally against the Canucks – and was part of his first trade. Talk about a whirlwind for the former first-overall contender. All in all, he has played 15 NHL games (two goals and three points) and 54 AHL games (nine goals and 27 points) since turning pro.
Raty’s career totals in both the NHL and AHL don’t jump off the page, and his lack of impact in the games he played with the Canucks (Vancouver and Abbotsford alike) doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence. Having said that, he did start to turn it around towards the end of the AHL’s regular season with 11 points in the final 17 games. He also showcased his lethal wrist shot against the Calgary Wranglers in the playoffs going bar down on arguably the best goaltender outside the NHL in Dustin Wolf.
The hope this season will be that Raty dominates the AHL and becomes a leader in Abbotsford. The cherry on top would be a bunch of call-ups to Vancouver and glimpses of his elite future in the NHL. He definitely has the chops to do it, now he has to prove that he’s the blue-chip prospect many experts made him out to be in the early projections of the 2021 Draft. The Canucks need him to become at least an impact middle-six center that scores 20-25 goals a season and plays a solid two-way game. Anything less than that will be a disappointment.
Jonathan Lekkerimaki
It’s definitely too early to panic and label Lekkerimaki as a potential first-round bust. But that narrative will get louder if he has another underwhelming regular season in 2023-24. Selected 15th overall in the 2022 Draft, he has all the tools to be a top-line winger who scores 30-40 goals on the regular. His accurate wrist shot, one-timer, and silky smooth hands are all attributes he possesses that could one day translate to elite production in the NHL. Unfortunately, injuries/illnesses have gotten in the way of his development as he has had to battle through mono, a concussion, and a foot injury since being selected in the first round last year.
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On the bright side, Lekkerimaki recovered from all of them and returned to form in the Allsvenskan playoffs with five goals and 15 points in 15 games. He was one of his team’s best players throughout and restored Canucks Nation’s faith in his NHL potential. He showcased not only the aforementioned pinpoint accurate wrist shot but his playmaking and ability to come through in the clutch.
Lekkerimaki will be joining a much better team in Orebro HK this season and should be one of his country’s leading men when Sweden hosts the 2024 World Juniors. Barring injury, he has the opportunity to break out and lead his nation to a gold medal, which would further solidify his spot as one of the Canucks’ top prospects and future stars up front. With Orebro, he will also team up with another prospect in defenceman Elias Pettersson, who himself has climbed the ranks as a top prospect in the Canucks’ organization. Hopefully, the duo can stand out in a positive way in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and boost the farm system to new heights at the end of the season.
Danila Klimovich
Finally, we have 2021 second-round pick Danila Klimovich. Some would say he already broke out in 2022-23 with 17 goals and 29 points, but I say he needs to hit a new level in production this season to really solidify his spot as a potential NHLer. He made significant strides from his rookie season in 2021-22 when he had only eight goals and 18 points in 62 games, but I believe he has a lot more to give in 2023-24.
Klimovich’s skill level is off the charts when it comes to his shot and creativity in the offensive zone. He developed more of a defensive game last season and became more consistent with his production, which is a good sign for his future in the big leagues. He also developed chemistry with undrafted free agent Arshdeep Bains and impressed Abbotsford’s general manager Ryan Johnson, who is starting to get really excited about his ceiling.
“Danila took huge steps this year in the details of his game that we knew he needed to — to give himself a chance to play a bigger role…His wall-play, attention in the defensive zone, managing the puck and managing the game. A lot of little things, but he really started to understand those parts and their value to the overall game and how they would impact a team to win a hockey game…He’s really mature, and for a kid that’s just 20 years old, there’s so much room to grow and we’re not even close to what his ceiling is.”
With names like Logan Stankoven (Dallas Stars – 47th) and Matthew Knies (Toronto Maple Leafs – 57th) looking like steals after Klimovich was selected, he needs to continue to take strides in his development in 2023-24. It would also be great to see him in the NHL at some point so that everyone can see what he looks like at the highest level. If he can show more confidence in his game at the AHL level and be the first name on head coach Jeremy Colliton’s lips when Patrik Allvin makes the call to Abbotsford, he’s that much closer to being the impact player the Canucks are looking for in their future core.
Canucks Need To Start Seeing The Next Wave in 2023-24
While the Canucks have a solid core of forwards led by Elias Pettersson, Andrei Kuzmenko, and JT Miller, they need to start seeing some prospects make significant progress in their development in 2023-24. Pettersson is just entering his prime at 24 years old and Kuzmenko and Miller are already there. That means they don’t have a huge window to start having playoff success. I am not saying that Raty, Lekkerimaki, and Klimovich have to become NHL players right now, but they have to continue pushing forward and staying in the conversation of future members of this core group led by Pettersson. Breakout years from all three of them will do that, and considering their ceilings and skill sets, I have a lot of confidence in that happening this season.
