Eriksson sees plenty of potential in Canucks’ young Swedish prospects
Loui Eriksson took Elias Pettersson and Jonathan Dahlen out for dinner last week, before the young Swedish duo set off for Penticton and last weekend’s Young Stars Classic.
Dahlen he’s known for years: Dahlen’s dad Ulf, an ex-NHLer in his own right, was an assistant coach during Eriksson’s first two NHL seasons in Dallas.
He met Pettersson for the first time.
“Seems like a nice kid,” Eriksson said.
“It’s going to be exciting to see them on the ice and try to make the team.”
The biggest advice he had for the young players was just to play their game.
“The young guys have so much speed and they’re coming in with a good attitude,” he said. “Show everyone that they belong there.”
And while getting used to the style of play in North America takes time, Eriksson figures they’re still better set up for the transition than players before them.
“They have so much skill now, the young guys coming up. They have a good shot to make the team.”
It is also a transition in moving from being the big fish in a small pond to a league where everyone is a top player and the margins are fine.
“They’ve worked so hard to get where they are,” he said. “Everyone knows they have the skill, but there’s a lot of other stuff, too, (that they need) to make the team.”
As for Eriksson, even at age 33, there’s a buzz to launching the season.
“It’s always the same — it’s always fun to get ready for a new season,” he said.
He went back to Sweden for the summer, where he caught up with family.
He and his wife have four kids.
“It means a lot for them to see their dad all day,” he said.