Two Vancouver Canucks land on the NHL’s best U23 players and prospects

The Athletic has released their midseason edition of their top U23 players and prospects, with a pair of Vancouver Canucks among those named.

Across North America and Europe, we’ve reached the halfway mark of the season in a good majority of leagues, and it’s a good time to take a look at how certain players and prospects have played up to this point.

For the Vancouver Canucks, while it has been an up-and-down season, a number of their prospects are enjoying plenty of success throughout the 2024-25 campaign, including Tom Willander and Jonathan Lekkerimaki.

Tom Willander & Jonathan Lekkerimaki land on The Athletic’s Rankings

On Tuesday, Corey Pronman of The Athletic shared his rankings of the best players and prospects under the age of 23, with Swedish defender Tom Willander and forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki appearing on the list.

Tom Willander comes in 68th at Pronman’s after one strong performance at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in Ottawa, where he helped Sweden to fourth place.

Pronman cites his Willander’s skating as his biggest asset and says he projects to be a top-four defenseman in the National Hockey League, which is music to the ears of Vancouver Canucks fans.

‘Willander has been a very important player for Boston University and Sweden’s U20 team this season, logging a lot of minutes in all situations. His skating is his biggest asset. He has a quick, powerful skating stride and can push the pace up the ice with the puck. Willander’s skating allows him to close checks well and be a quality defender, especially when combined with some physicality in his game. Offensively, he is solid. He shows blue-line poise and can make skillful plays with the puck and hit seams, though I don’t see a true NHL power-play type. Willander projects as a two-way top-4 defenseman.’ Pronman said.

As for Jonathan Lekkerimaki, who made his NHL debut back in November and scored his first goal in his second career gamehe has been ranked 84th by Corey Pronman.

Lekkerimaki has been solid for the American Hockey League’s Abbotsford Canucks this season, registering a team-leading 12 goals and five assists in 21 games, but it’s clear he’s nearing a full-time role in the National Hockey League.

While Lekkerimaki may be on the NHL roster for now, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him back in Abbotsford at some point this season to get more seasons ahead of a big year in 2025-26, when he is expected to will take a big step in his development.