Canucks pick playmaker Pettersson
CHICAGO — If it was by design, there was no better way for Elias Pettersson to witness what it will take to pack on muscle and eventually ply his playmaking trade in the National Hockey League.
Not only did the Vancouver Canucks select the slick Swedish centre fifth-overall Friday – missing on projected top-pairing defenceman Cale Makar who went fourth to Colorado and passing on centre Cody Glass who went sixth to Las Vegas – they made sure on a post-Draft Combine visit to Rogers Arena that the 6-2, 165-pound Pettersson would see the commitment required to being a consummate pro.
Meeting Henrik and Daniel Sedin at the arena in early June was an exclamation mark for Pettersson, knowing the commitment the twins have for off-season training is legendary.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I heard that they always train hard and even though you think you’re training hard, you can always train harder. I watched them through the years and they make hockey look way too easy sometimes. They are very good players and it was fun to meet them.”
Add that visit to the fact general manager Jim Benning always included Pettersson in his assessments of preferred playmaking pivots, the crossing of paths with his countrymen was noteworthy. Benning also indicated he was prepared to move down in this draft to land his targeted player and it was clear Friday that Pettersson topped his wish list.
Often compared to a budding Nicklas Backstrom because of a smooth and intelligent game that features little panic, Pettersson has the uncanny ability to pass in traffic and hold on to the puck to feather a sweet feed or select a shot.
Pettersson had 19 goals and 21 assists in 43 games for Timra IK of the second-division Hockey Allsvenskan and was a teammate of Canucks prospect Jonathan Dahlen. The plan is to move up to the Swedish Elite League next season with the Vaxjo Lakers – hopefully with Dahlen, so the Canucks could have a future line in the making.
It makes sense because in today’s game, creativity trumps all. You can always get stronger and faster, but you can’t whip up skill. You either have it or you don’t.