GM Patrik Allvin on World Juniors and Lekkerimäki, D-Petey coming to Abbotsford Canucks

With three silver medalists as well as the tournament MVP, it was a successful World Junior Championships for the Vancouver Canucks’ prospects.

Tom Willander, Elias Pettersson, and Jonathan Lekkerimäki played big roles for Sweden, and we caught up with Canucks GM Patrik Allvin, who was in Sweden for the tournament, to get his thoughts on each player as well as some insight into which players will be joining the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL later this season.

Let’s begin with Allvin’s thoughts on the one player who is young enough to return for next year’s WJC – right-shot defenceman and 2023 first-round pick, Tom Willander.

“Based on what I saw and talking to my staff, I thought he started off a little bit slow and was feeling his way out around there being a young player in the tournament, but as the tournament went on, I thought he just got better and better and started to take shots and play to his strengths,” said Allvin. “He started to play good two-way hockey and ended up playing a lot of minutes for Sweden. I thought he was a very steady player. He was on the ice for just two goals against throughout the whole tournament.”

Allvin also said that he liked the way that Willander handled the pressure from having a tournament of that magnitude on home soil. He is looking forward to watching Willander next year and believes that this year’s pressure will help Willander in droves for next year’s tournament, as one of the few returning players.

Next up was Elias Pettersson, or D-Petey as we call him. The 6’4” left-shot defenceman was dominant in the corners and used his physicality to take away pucks while also remaining under control with his play in his own zone.

Allvin liked D-Petey's steadiness throughout the tournament and thought that he played well in his own zone.

“Every game was consistent for Elias,” said Allvin. “He played to his identity, played to his strengths, and was hard to play against. For his size, he’s such a good skater and I think that's why he was trusted defensively. I thought he was very, very consistent.”

D-Petey is currently on loan to the Allsvenskan and the 19-year-old is seeing much more ice time and opportunity to develop in Sweden’s second division. We asked Allvin about the decision for D-Petey to leave the SHL in search of more ice time in the Allsvenskan.

“It was more his choice to go to the Allsvenskan, which I give him credit for. I like the maturity of him realizing the importance of playing more minutes," said Allvin. “I think he felt at the time it was the right decision and dealing with Mikael Samuelsson, he supported the loan. I think Elias has been able to take the next step and we're very excited about the future and continue to work with him.”

The team will be able to work with D-Petey much more closely in the coming months.

Elias Pettersson will join the Abbotsford Canucks at the conclusion of his Allsvenskan season. The regular season ends on March 8th and D-Petey's team is currently sixth in the league standings, so they will more than likely be in the playoffs but we could potentially expect to see D-Petey with the Abbotsford Canucks sometime in late March or early April.

“The next step for Elias is to come over to North America,” said Allvin. “The plan is to come over for next year, but whenever they're done, we'll bring him in and start working with Elias right away. I hope he will get into some games with Abbotsford. He is capable and he’s ready for that. I think he’s excited about playing for Abbotsford too.”

Now for Jonathan Lekkerimäki, who took home MVP of the tournament.

“I thought he was great,” said Allvin of the 2022 first-round pick. “He was playing in his third World Juniors and we know how hard that tournament is. For him to show confidence and be a leader on the team, I thought it was great for him. It was just another confidence builder on the season he’s had so far this year and we are definitely glad to see where he's trending.”

Confidence is huge for players in their teenage years and Lekkerimäki has to be feeling good about his game after taking home the MVP award at the tournament and now returning to the SHL, where he has 10 goals in 24 games.

“It's great to see Jonathan have this confidence in himself,” said Allvin. “It just shows that it's not a sprint to get to the next level. You are going to face adversity and you are going to have to learn how to handle it to get to the next level. It isn't going to get any easier. If you never face any adversity, it's just going to get harder. We're very happy where Jonathan is at. He's another player that once he's done in the SHL, he will report to Abbotsford as well.”

Allvin said that his scouting staff was high on his shooting ability and his ability to be a difference-maker in the offensive zone. The GM and his staff have been happy with the progression in Lekkerimäki’s game this season.

“He’s got an elite shot and showed it in the tournament, but I also think he’s matured this season and is more inside and is hunting pucks,” said Allvin. “He’s learning how to play with more of a complete game.”

Canucks fans in the valley could be seeing Lekkerimäki in Abbotsford in mid-March or early April.

Lekkerimäki’s team is currently out of a playoff spot and if Örebro stays on the outside looking in of the SHL playoffs, their year will be over on March 12th.

Abbotsford will be playing regular season games up until April 20th, and then the AHL playoffs will follow.

“I think it's great to have our prospects developing in Abbotsford,” said Allvin. “We want our fans in Abbotsford to feel connected with Vancouver and feel connected with our young players. I think that's really important. It's also a great head start for us and for our coaching staff and our development staff to get to know the player even quicker. They can get acclimated to how we want to play and practice and be ready for the next year.”

Overall, it was a strong tournament for the prospects, and we now look ahead to seeing a pair of the organization’s top prospects join the Abbotsford Canucks for a late-season push and some AHL playoff hockey in the coming months.