Canucks select Tom Willander 11th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft

Tom Willander has been a fan of the Canucks, and Daniel and Henrik Sedin, since he was in kindergarten. As a child, his dad would pull up NHL game recaps at the breakfast table and Willander would always put his order in for Canucks highlights.

Fast forward 12 years and as Willander dons the Canucks' jersey after he was selected as the 11th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, those childhood memories came rushing back.

"Just seeing the logo on the screen made me kind of nostalgic," he said. "The Sedins being probably the most dominant pair of players ever, also being Swedes, it's huge."

Willander, the Boston University commit, was joined in Nashville with his family, some friends, and Boston University coaches for one of the most monumental moments of his life.

"I'm just super excited to get started," Willander said. "This marks a new chapter of my life, and this is for sure the biggest moment I've shared with anyone, so I'm super happy."

The 18-year-old, right-shot defenceman hails from Stockholm, Sweden, coming off a season in the J20 Nationell League with Rogle BK Angelholm tallying 25 points (4-21-25) in 39 games. Willander thinks playing with Rogle BK was instrumental in his development, and is focused on elevating the offensive side of his game as he heads to BU in the fall.

General Manager Patrik Allvin shared that Willander's decision to leave the Swedish Hockey League and attend BU in the fall speaks to his maturity and awareness of his development.

"It's an impressive decision for him, turning down playing in the SHL and talking about his path, believing that it was putting him in a better position to transition into the NHL by going to BU. I think that speaks highly of him and his character, and understanding," he said.

Willander is a two-way defenceman, and at 6-foot-1, 180-pounds, is a strong skater with the ability to defend, and his position is one the Canucks were looking for. He's a natural athlete, also having played forward up until two years ago.

"He was a guy the scouts started talking about at the beginning of the season, and they just grew and grew on him," Allvin said.

At the 2023 IIHF U18 World Championship in Switzerland this past April, Willander helped Sweden to the silver medal with eight points (3-5-8) in seven games.

Willander will have his introduction to Vancouver for Development Camp from July 1-7 and he's looking forward to it.