Between the World Junior Championship in Edmonton and the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto and Montreal, we've got dawn-to-dusk spots on the agenda this week: pretty juicy for mid-August, with lots of Canadian content.
I've been covering a few B.C. Lions games this season as well, which has been a lot of fun. It's great to see the 6-1 Lions not just winning, but doing it in such an exciting style. Young quarterback Nathan Rourke is looking more and more like he's the real deal as he puts up numbers that are not just historic for a Canadian, but for all of CFL history. And the rest of the roster has also been strong on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
On Tuesday, Rourke was named a CFL top performer of the week for the fourth time in nine weeks. Receiver Dominique Rhymes also earned his first top-performer nod of the year. He now leads the CFL with eight touchdowns, even though the Lions are one of three teams with just seven games played.
Next up: a potentially tough test, at McMahon stadium against the 5-2 Calgary Stampeders this Saturday.
More immediately, though, we've got three games of hockey a day for the next while, starting Tuesday. And three Canucks prospects in the mix.
Canucks.com has a handy profile of the trio: Joni Jurmo of Finland, Jonathan Lekkerimaki of Sweden and Jacob Truscott of Team USA.
Everything you need to know about our prospects playing in the 2022 #WorldJuniors 🇫🇮🇸🇪🇺🇸
On Day 1, two of those prospects will be in action.
The festivities kick off with Czechia vs. Slovakia at 11 a.m. PT.
Then, it's Joni Jurmo and Finland taking on Latvia at 3 p.m. PT.
The Latvians were a late addition to the tournament, promoted from Division 1 to replace Russia after the IIHF elected to suspend Russia and Belarus from international hockey competition following the Russians' invasion of Ukraine in February.
For Jurmo, the 6'4", 205-pound left defenseman will be suiting up for the first time in his career in a major international tournament. It's a promising step for the Canucks' third-round pick from the 2020 draft, whose calling card is his skating.
"Joni is a strong, powerful skater with size," Canucks assistant director of player development Chris Higgins told Brett Lee of Canucks.com. "He has the ability to individually transport the puck from zone to zone, impressing his peers at this year's development camp."
The Finns took bronze in the 2021 tournament, held in fan-free Rogers Place in Edmonton what seems like a lifetime ago, with Anton Lundell leading the way before making a successful jump to the NHL with the Florida Panthers.
The Finnish roster is strong again this year, featuring returnee Topi Niemela on the blue line and three offensive names that jump off the page: 2022 17th pick Joakim Kemell, fellow first-rounder Brad Lambert and 2021 second-rounder Aatu Raty.
Day 1 will wrap up with the United States facing Germany at 7 p.m. PT.
The American are the defending gold medalists: goaltender Spencer Knight was a standout and Trevor Zegras took home the tournament MVP award in 2021. This year's squad will be captained by defenseman Brock Faber, and will also feature Truscott.
Drafted 62 picks after Jurmo in 2020, in the fifth round, Truscott's situation is quite similar to Jurmo's. He's also a new addition to the summer roster, will be playing in his first major international tournament and will likely be holding down a third or fourth-pairing role (teams are allowed to dress 22 skaters for international hockey games, usually 12 forwards, eight defensemen and two goalies).
Truscott has completed two years at the University of Michigan, where he was frequently paired with Luke Hughes. Listed at 6'1" and 179 pounds, his calling card is his pinpoint passing. Depending on how things go, his familiarity with Hughes might earn him some elevated minutes in the tournament.
He doesn't put up a lot of points, but "Jacob plays a reliable, effective defensive game," Higgins told Lee. "He is dedicated to the game's details and has the skillset to be a valuable penalty killer at the next level."
The Canucks' third prospect also has the most promise: Swedish winger Jonathan Lekkerimaki. Barely 18 — his birthday was on July 24 — he was selected 15th overall in last month's draft. And as you've probably heard by now, Patrik Allvin indicated that the organization had him ranked seventh on their draft list in Montreal, and was thrilled to see him fall into their laps.
Sweden finished fifth in the 2021 World Junior tournament, after capturing bronze in Nils Hoglander's tournament in 2020 and silver in Elias Pettersson's year, 2018.
Once again, Sweden will be anchored by Jesper Wallstedt in net — a returnee from 2021. Lekkerimaki is one of two 18-year-olds on the Swedish roster, along with fellow 2022 first-rounder Liam Ohgren.
"When he anticipates offensive opportunities, Jonathan has the intelligence, skill, and shot to finish scoring sequences," Higgins told Lee.
Listed at 5'11" and 172 pounds, Lekkerimaki's top skill is his dagger of a shot. He was the Swedes' top scored at the World Under-18 Championship last spring, and picked up a goal in Sweden's 4-3 loss to Canada in pre-tournament action on Monday.
That game was not televised, so he's a jumbotron replay of Lekkerimaki's goal from Steven Ellis of The Hockey News.
Here's how the lines rolled on Monday, with Lekkerimaki in the second-line right-wing spot. That looks similar to his deployment from earlier pre-tournament games as well.
Sweden will kick off Day 2 against the Swiss, Wednesday at 11 a.m. PT. Then, it's Canada vs. Latvia at 3 p.m., with Germany and Austria closing out the day.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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