Did Lekkerimäki Just Need the Canucks to Believe?

The Vancouver Canucks could have taken the easy road with Jonathan Lekkerimäki. He hadn't established himself in the NHL. He had played only 37 games over two seasons. He had shoulder surgery in February. He hadn't had a normal offseason to get stronger. Plenty of reasons made it seem like he'd start the season in Abbotsford.

Instead, Ryan Johnson and the Canucks said, essentially: “We think you're ready.” Let's find out. That's an interesting hockey decision because it isn't really about statistics. It's about judgment.

And this is where I think there's a bigger story for me. We talk about player development as if it's a straight line. A player performs, earns more ice time, earns a bigger role, and eventually becomes an NHL regular. But sometimes it doesn't happen that way. Sometimes the opportunity has to come before the player has completely demonstrated that he deserves it.

Lekkerimäki is being thrown into all sorts of on-ice situations.

Lekkerimäki is getting 11 or 12 minutes a night. He's been moved from line to line. He's played with different centres. He's hardly been handed the keys to the kingdom. But somebody has decided he belongs in the building. That's beyond important.

Because young players don't develop in exactly the same way. Some need more time. Some need a coach who believes in them. Some need a particular linemate. And some, perhaps, simply need to be allowed to fail a little without the failure becoming their identity.

That last part interests me. I wonder how many young hockey players get labelled too early. As if they are not NHL-ready. Not strong enough. Or not consistent enough. Needs another year. Doesn't compete hard enough. Maybe he's just an AHL player.

Sometimes players prove those initial judgments wrong.

Sometimes those judgments are right. Hockey is full of talented young players who don't make it. But there is a danger in confusing “hasn't done it yet” with “can't do it.” Lekkerimäki hasn't suddenly solved his NHL career after four games. But he has been given something pretty valuable: a chance to show that the people who believed in him might be right.

And maybe that's part of what good organizations do. They don't just identify talent. They recognize when it's time to stop waiting for proof and start creating the conditions for it.

The Canucks took that gamble with Lekkerimäki. So far, the kid is making them look pretty smart.