‘I KNOW I HAVE TO GET BETTER’
Lehkonen wants to get stronger, faster
Shea Weber said he didn’t want to make comparisons, but he made one inadvertently when he dropped Artturi Lehkonen’s name in a conversation about the rocky path of Alex Galchenyuk’s NHL career.
Weber noted that some players take longer to develop and that he was confident Galchenyuk would figure things out.
Galchenyuk is still searching for an identity after five years with the Canadiens, while Lehkonen has made a seamless transition after moving to the NHL from Frolunda in the Swedish Elite League. He was tied for third in team goal scoring with 18 and added two more goals in the playoffs.
“It was a good year, but I know that I have to get better,” Lehkonen said after going through his exit interviews with Canadiens management Monday. “There were some times during the season when I was tired and I want to get stronger and faster. My goal is to be a top forward on this team.”
Lehkonen took a step in that direction as a 21-year-old rookie.
When he arrived in camp, Lehkonen was determined to earn a spot on the roster because, if he didn’t, he would have to return to Frolunda and he felt that would be a step back. He had a breakthrough season with the Swedish team in 2015-16 and shared the playoff scoring honours with teammate Ryan Lasch as Frolunda won the Swedish playoffs. Lehkonen had a team-high 11 goals and eight assists in 16 games in the post-season.
While Galchenyuk has bounced between centre and left wing, Lehkonen is a right-winger, although he admits to giving centre a shot at Frolunda.
“I played about 20 games at the beginning of last season, but I couldn’t win faceoffs,” Lehkonen said.
The Canadiens drafted Lehkonen in the second round (55th overall) in 2013, but Lehkonen delayed coming to North America because he didn’t feel he was physically ready for the NHL. He played two seasons for KalPa Kuopio in his native Finland and then took a step up to Frolunda.
“Those years helped me prepare for the NHL,” Lehkonen said. “The coaching there is good and I played with Sami Kapanen in KalPa and he told me what to expect in the NHL.”
Kapanen, the majority owner of the KalPa team, played 13 seasons in the NHL with Hartford, Carolina and Philadelphia. His son, Kasperi, was Lehkonen’s teammate at KalPa and now plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
When the Canadiens were eliminated from the NHL playoffs, Team Finland inquired about his availability for the upcoming world championships in Paris and Cologne, Germany.
“The only time I’ve been in Paris is to change planes, but I don’t think I’ll be going,” said Lehkonen, who hinted that he had an injury.
Fans hoping to see some of their favourite Canadiens in action at the world championships will be disappointed. The only Canadien who has signed on for national team duty is deadline addition Andreas Martinsen, who will represent Norway.
Carey Price and Shea Weber did their patriotic duty last September in the World Cup and will stay home to spend some quality time with their families. Ditto for American Max Pacioretty, Russians Alexei Emelin and Andrei Markov, and Czech Tomas Plekanec.
“It’s time to give the younger guys a chance,” said Weber, who said his reluctance had nothing to do with the injury that sidelined him for the final week of the season.
Weber said he enjoyed the lateseason vacation and when he was asked if he would like to share the details of his injury now that the season s over, he smiled and said: “Heck, no.”
Plekanec, who will spend the summer in Montreal, noted that Paris and Cologne are nice cities but he’ll take a pass. He said the NHL’s decision to skip the Olympics in South Korea next year factored into his decision.
“I’ve always enjoyed the world championships and the Olympics because it gives me a chance to spend time with people I don’t see a lot,” said Plekanec. He noted that there has been a decline in the number of Czechs playing in the NHL and that it’s important to give some of the younger players international experience and exposure.”
Brendan Gallagher played in last year’s world championships but he said Team Canada hasn’t reached out to him. He said would probably take a pass to give his broken hand additional time to fully heal.