Canucks' Jonathan Lekkerimäki Has Been Given a Big Chance

Training camp has started, and the Vancouver Canucks are showing what they think of Jonathan Lekkerimäki. Sometimes a young player doesn't need another speech about patience. He doesn't need somebody telling him that his time will come. Sometimes he just needs to be put in a position where he can show everybody what he can do.

That seems to be what is happening with Lekkerimäki. The 22-year-old was skating on right wing with Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, and that is a pretty nice place to find yourself when you're trying to make an impression. Rossi was Vancouver's most productive centre after the Olympic break last season, so Lekkerimäki isn't being asked to create everything by himself.

Sometimes Opportunity Looks a Lot Like Responsibility.

There is a funny thing about young hockey players. We spend a lot of time talking about whether they’re getting enough opportunity, but eventually it arrives, and it comes with a little pressure. Lekkerimäki needs to score in camp and the preseason if he is going to earn a spot on the 23-man roster. That's not unfair. It's actually pretty simple. The Canucks have given him a talented centre, put him in an offensive position and given him a chance to show that he belongs.

Now he has to do something with it. That's where development gets interesting. A player can have all the talent in the world, but hockey isn't played in a laboratory. Timing matters. Linemates matter. Confidence matters. Health matters. So does having a coach look at you and say, essentially, "Let's see what happens if we put you here."

Maybe Lekkerimäki has needed exactly that.

The Canucks Are Finding Out What He Is.

I also think something bigger is happening here than a training-camp lineup. At some point, every prospect stops being a prospect and starts becoming a player. That's the uncomfortable transition. Potential is a wonderful thing because nobody can prove it wrong. Once a player gets a real opportunity, though, potential has to become production.

That's where Lekkerimäki is now. The Canucks aren't asking him to carry the team. They are giving him a chance to play with someone who can help create offence and then asking him to contribute. That's a reasonable test. And maybe that's all a young player really wants.

Not a guarantee. Not a promise that he'll make the team. Just a real chance to show what he can do. Lekkerimäki has one now. The interesting part will be whether he grabs it.