Photo credit: Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Jonathan Lekkerimäki season-ending shoulder surgery news hits the Vancouver Canucks hard, because this was supposed to be the “look at the kid” stretch run.
The report has Lekkerimäki heading for shoulder surgery, and that means no more games in 2025-26.
He is not just a prospect name on a depth chart, he is the right-shot trigger the organization has been trying to grow in-house.
Lekkerimäki is 21, drafted in 2022, Round 1, 15th overall by the Vancouver Canucks, and the whole point this season was getting him closer to full-time NHL minutes.
Instead, the calendar flips from development to rehab.
This isn’t a “rest and see” injury, surgery is the line in the sand, and that usually comes with a long summer of range-of-motion work.
Jonathan Lekkerimaki will miss the remained of the season due to a shoulder injury per
@DhaliwalSports
The rough part is the timing, because Lekkerimäki finally started stacking games and building confidence again.
He reportedly logged 13 NHL games this season with a 2-1-3 line, plus 21 AHL games with Abbotsford at 13-7-20, which screams “shot first, ask questions later.”
Jonathan Lekkerimäki puts Vancouver Canucks plans on pause
If you’re a Canucks fan, it’s hard not to feel that familiar deflation, like every good development story gets a “to be continued” stamp.
On the ice, it takes away a clean option for the man advantage, because his release is the kind that forces penalty killers to lean.
It also removes a simple roster lever, the easy recall when scoring dries up or a top-six winger tweaks something.
Now the Canucks are left juggling short-term needs without the long-term audition they wanted.
Cap-wise, an entry-level deal is manageable, but the real cost is opportunity, those reps between the pipes against NHL goalies.
The next milestone is rehab progress and whether he can hit training camp speed without fear in the corners.
For a player whose value is built around shooting, a shoulder recovery has to be perfect, not just “good enough.”
This is one of those setbacks that doesn’t change his ceiling, but it absolutely changes the timeline.
Previously on Vancouver Hockey Daily
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