CONFIDENT PROSPECT
Pettersson inks NHL deal
Two pressing questions led to two quick and comforting conclusions Friday about Elias Pettersson.
He is confident he will make a smooth transition to the NHL next season — despite the smaller ice surface and a reduction of time and space for those eye-popping dangles — and he has a pretty good sense of humour, too.
Fresh off signing an incentiveladen, three-year, entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks, the fifth overall selection in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft was dripping with determination during a conference call.
Pettersson is projected to start at right wing, but expects to make a move to the middle sooner than most might think.
This is what happens when you dominate the Swedish Hockey League as a 19-year-old whiz kid with record-setting regular- and post-season performances and have the conviction that’s there’s nothing left to prove at that level with the Vaxjo Lakers. That’s some swagger.
“I thought of it, of course, and what I want to do, but this has been my dream since I knew what the NHL was,” said Pettersson, who cited Swedish standouts such as Peter Forsberg and Nicklas Backstrom as role models because of their skill, will and impact.
“I’ve always believed in myself that I could do it as soon as possible. I play with instinct and if I feel I can drive the net or shoot the puck earlier, I just do it. Whatever comes to my mind first.”
Some are focusing on his weight rather than a game punctuated by a slippery skating stride, poised playmaking, a rapid release and the jam to take scoring forays down the goal-line. So what if he’s not 190 pounds? Get over it.
Pettersson is recovering from a fractured thumb suffered May 13 on a breakaway at the world junior championship. He is doing core training and the thumb will be fully healed in three weeks to commence upper-body work.
“I’m trying to bulk up to 200 pounds,” he said.
Then there was a prolonged pause. Then a laugh.
“I’m just kidding,” the 6-2 forward said. “I don’t even know what my weight is today — it’s about 177. I don’t feel stressed about putting on too much weight because I want it to be muscle mass because I want to be a fast player.”
That’s comforting on several levels.
Pettersson was 165 pounds on draft day and his brother, Emil, a 24-year-old centre with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL, is 185 pounds. And with the NHL trending more toward skill than size since Patrick Kane was drafted first overall in 2007 — he weighed 162 pounds at the time — there’s evidence Pettersson is at the right time and place in his career.
The Canucks will purposely play the left-shot forward at right wing, although he can also play left wing, to get acclimated to the North American game and surface. He competed in the 2017 world junior tournament in Montreal and Toronto and looked comfortable in the Summer Showcase game last July at Rogers Arena.
Pettersson is eventually going to be a centre of attention in the NHL and, in his mind, it might not take long.
“I don’t know the exact numbers, but in Sweden it was around eight or nine games at centre,” he said of his season at Vaxjo, where he played the half wall on the power play and expects to do that here, too.
“I’m comfortable playing both wing and centre.
“I see the possibility of playing centre to get the puck more, but getting the puck higher up the ice on the wing, I see possibilities in both places.
“It didn’t change my game at the world junior — I just felt that I had less time with the puck and needed to protect it more. I’ll have that in mind and with good training, I’m going to be as ready as possible.” It should be intriguing. Pettersson’s mind-boggling rookie Swedish campaign included regular-season and playoff scoring titles and an MVP performance in leading the Lakers to a championship series sweep.
He established under-20 records with 56 points (24 goals, 32 assists) in 44 regular-season games and averaged 1.273 points per outing.
I play with instinct and if I feel I can drive the net or shoot the puck earlier, I just do it. Whatever comes to my mind first.
In the playoffs he had a record 19 points (10-9) in 13 games and averaged 1.462 points per game.
Pettersson also surpassed the U-20 regular season and playoff production recorded by Henrik and Daniel Sedin. His 75 combined points (34-41) in 57 games topped Henrik, who had 61 points (14-47) in 63 games in 1999-2000, and Daniel, who managed 56 points (24-32) over 63 games in the same season.
So, as much as the Canucks have to be guarded about expectations, who’s really to know?
“Maybe he comes in like (Mathew) Barzal and kind of takes the league by storm,” Canucks general manager Jim Benning said, referring to this past season’s Calder Trophy favourite. “Maybe he can do that for us, but we’ll have to see how he adapts.
“When we drafted him, we knew from a skills standpoint and his hockey sense — his anticipation and vision — and the things that go into the way the game is played today, that he could develop into a special player. But we have to make sure we temper expectations because the pro game at the NHL level is different. But the things he can do, he’s very good at.
“He has good balance and uses leverage to hang on to the puck for that extra second to see the ice open up. And the release on his shot — I don’t know if it’s like Brock Boeser’s or if it’s at the same level — but it’s pretty close.” OVERTIME: According to initial but unconfirmed calculations by capfriendly.com, Petterson’s entry-level contract could max out at US$10.75 million if he hits yearly performance bonuses. The standard two-way deal has a $925,000 NHL cap hit and pays $70,000 in the minors.