The Vancouver Canucks want Jonathan Lekkerimäki to grow into a go-to goal scorer. That’s crystal clear.
The next step they take in that development path with the 21-year-old Swede is what you have to wonder about.
They could start this season with sending Lekkerimäki back to their AHL Abbotsford Canucks affiliate, play him on the first line there and give him 20 minutes of ice time a night, with all the power play time he could handle.
They could let him marinate, as it were.
They could also try a more aggressive prep process. They could start this season with Lekkerimäki on the big club playing in a bottom six forward group, getting 8-10 minutes a night behind fellow right-shot wingers Brock Boeser , Conor Garland and Kiefer Sherwood.
It feels like the Canucks are giving him