Montreal Canadiens Top Prospects Countdown: #24: Lukas Vejdemo

Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin has compiled a long list of prospects. We are counting down the top 30. At number 24, Lukas Vejdemo.

Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin has been stocking up both picks and prospects over the last three NHL entry drafts. It has resulted in the Habs having one of the deeper prospect pools in the NHL. So, we have been counting down the Canadiens Top 30 prospects.

This started on November 1st with the 30th spot going to Jack Gorniak. The 29th spot went to Jacob LeGuerrier, Otto Leskinen was 28th, Rafael Harvey-Pinard went 27th, and Jacob Olofsson was 25th.

At the 24th spot, sits a prospect who finds himself in a bit of a middle ground with the team. According to our rankings, Lukas Vejdemo is the 24th best prospect in the Canadiens system. A group of writers at our site combined our personal rankings of the most promising Habs prospects, and Vejdemo finds himself at 24th.

Originally a third round pick of the Habs in 2015, Vejdemo’s impressive performance with the Laval Rocket over the last two seasons has seen him move higher up the Canadiens depth chart, and serve a key role in Joel Bouchard’s team first system. Prior to joining the Canadiens, Vejdemo put up solid numbers in his four seasons with Djurgardens IF of the SHL, posting 22 points over 47 games in his final season. After this, the Canadiens signed Vejdemo to a two-year entry level deal in May of 2018.

Originally expected to serve a depth role for the Rocket, Vejdemo found himself seeing more and more minutes as many of the Rocket’s more established players were either traded or struggled both offensively and defensively. Along with former seventh round pick Jake Evans and AHL free agent Alex Belzile, Vejdemo became one of numerous depth players who played important roles on a Rocket team that struggled on offense. This past season, Vejdemo continued to play a consistent role for the Rocket, with 19 points over 47 games, while also netting his first NHL goal in a 7-game cup of coffee with the Canadiens.

At his core, Vejdemo is a solid defensive player, seeing consistent minutes on Laval’s penalty kill while still managing a solid +/- rating. He battles hard on the forecheck and fits very well into a Rocket team that relies more on defense than offense to win. With the NHL and AHL seasons still on hold due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the Canadiens loaned Vejdemo to Sodertalje SK of the Swedish 1st division, where he plays alongside fellow prospects like Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard and LA Kings forward Samuel Fagemo.

On a Canadiens team ripe with solid defensive centres, Vejdemo’s main setback will be standing out amongst players like Evans and Laurent Dauphin. While he’s shown the ability to be a solid defensive player, Dauphin and Evans have shown an ability to produce offensively as well as defensively, with both being key contributors for the Rocket this season. Despite this, Vejdemo’s NHL potential is something that other similar prospects ranked before can’t say as much, which is why he finds himself at this spot on the list.

In regards to his future with the Canadiens, should the AHL season resume, look for Vejdemo to assume his normal defensive role on the Rocket penalty kill, and possibly build on the glimpses of offensive consistency he’s shown over his first two seasons with the team. With the Canadiens lack of free agent additions to the Rocket this past off-season, it’ll give younger players like Vejdemo a chance to see increased minutes and possibly a more offensive role.

With Evans having played a consistent role on Montreal’s fourth line in this year’s playoffs, theirs a very good chance he could end up playing with the Canadiens come next year. Should this happen, Vejdemo could slot into some of the holes he leaves in the Rocket lineup, and possibly see some powerplay minutes, especially if he produces offensively while on loan. Overall, Vejdemo is an interesting part of the Canadiens pipeline, and at 24 years old, should take on a much-increased role with the Rocket come next year. He’s an extremely solid defensive player, and one who has been incredibly beneficial to the Rocket these past two seasons.

While he’s yet to prove himself as a true NHL option, Vejdemo is still a key part of the Laval Rocket, and a interesting piece, of the Canadiens prospect pool.