Lekkerimäki is feeling more confident as he heads into his second year with the Canucks. Last year was his first rodeo in North America, but he’s looking forward to getting back on the horse for the 2025-26 season.
“I feel better about everything in my game,” he said. “It’s my second year now, it’s not my first training camp, and I know how it goes and how the practices are and how you play pro and all that. I have more confidence this year. It was really good to have had the year that I had. So yeah, I’m very excited for this next year.”
The offseason has been a good one for Lekkerimäki, who played in more games this season than in any other year of his young hockey career.
“I was staying in Stockholm for the most part, enjoying the sun and the Swedish food,” said Lekkerimäki. “I spent some time with my family, friends, just Swedish things.”
His summer training has been at another level than in previous years. He’s homed in on getting bigger and stronger while working with a small group in Stockholm. His main goal was to get bigger, stronger, and faster, and he believes he has accomplished that.
“I try to eat everything I can. I think it’s been really good,” said Lekkerimäki.
Lekkerimäki has worked closely with the Canucks’ development team on improving his play in the dirty areas and credits Samuelsson, Manny Malhotra, and the Sedins for sharing their experience and expertise.
“You have to be smart, too. You can’t just be strong,” said Lekkerimäki on what he has learned about playing in the dirty areas. “You have to figure it out, how to think ahead of the defenders and all that. But I’m feeling good, I’ve been working a lot during the season and the offseason. Hopefully, I can keep getting better on the boards.”
Looking back at the 2024-25 season, Lekkerimäki spoke about his NHL experience and what that meant to his family.
“It was a dream and very special to score my first NHL goal in front of my parents. That was a great moment and a great memory for me and my family. It was just a good year overall, playing some NHL games and playing some meaningful games in the AHL. So, yeah, pretty good, it was cool.”
He later joked that his parents were getting a bit nervous from all the TV time they were getting.
After a season where he played more games than ever before, the 21-year-old is looking to build on his gains and success last season. He scored 19 goals in 36 regular-season AHL games, in…
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