Vancouver Canucks Prospect Battled Through Serious Ailment for 2022 World Juniors

The 2022 World Juniors concluded the other day when Canada topped Finland, taking the gold medal on home ice. Finland's ticket to the gold medal game was punched when they shut out Team Sweden in the semi-finals. All said and done, this was a disappointing tournament for Sweden.

The Swedes entered the tournament as on the best teams on paper, and in their match against Finland they were heavily favored. Loaded with NHL prospects, they were expected to have a great tournament but instead fell to their Nordic neighbors. The biggest problem for Sweden was offense. Only two Swedes placed in the top 30 scorers in the tournament, which is unusual for a program loaded with high-level talent. One Swede who genuinely has a reason for his lackluster play is Vancouver Canucks prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki, who played the entire tournament dealing with mononucleosis the entire way, according to Rick Dhaliwal:

Mononucleosis is no joke. Symptoms include extreme fatigue, fever, and head/body aches, among other things, and sometimes the symptoms linger for up to a year.

Sweden's youngest player still managed three assists in the tournament, which should be an encouraging sign for the Canucks' brass. Not only is the kid a battler, he also outscored half of his teammates, each of whom were older and apparently healthier than him. Impressive work from an 18-year old kid.

The Canucks drafted Lekkerimäki 15th overall in this summer's draft after he scored 35 points in 26 games for Djürgardens junior team. Lekkermäki is eligible for the upcoming 2023 World Juniors, where he will probably be a top weapon for the Swedes, who will look to secure a medal after failing to do so this summer.

Patrik Allvin, the Swedish GM of the Canucks, likely has a strong idea of what they have in Lekkerimäki and should be encouraged by his performance in this summer's World Juniors, all things considered.

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