Pettersson’s knee fine, but timing’s off
Star rookie and his coach want to see a good practice session before he returns to game action
Elias Pettersson admits he hates watching hockey.
And while he’s itching to get back in the Vancouver Canucks’ lineup, he’ll return only when he feels fit and ready. In the meantime, he’s clearly feeling relaxed and loose.
In speaking with reporters on Thursday following an optional practice at Rogers Arena, the Canucks’ rookie sensation was as calm, relaxed and filled with good humour as he’s ever been. There was nary a hint of the prickly nature that has popped up from time to time.
His knee, he said, feels good.
“I felt I could push (the knee) more and skate 100 per cent out there,” he said, admitting his conditioning still needs some work.
The fact he’s been out of NHL action for two weeks and just resumed skating has put him behind the fitness race, he said.
“That will come. It’s no stress for me to come back. I’d rather rest one day extra to come back 100 per cent. I need to get in game shape.”
Canucks coach Travis Green made a similar assessment, suggesting he thought that Pettersson likely needs a full practice before returning to action.
Pettersson said the layoff, even if it has been relatively short, has put his timing off a little.
For most, that would be barely noticeable, but for an athlete playing at the highest level, every little hitch matters.
Wednesday night, he saw Oilers star Connor McDavid contained by the Canucks, but even then he put on a show in a 3-2 shootout victory for
Edmonton.
“He’s so good. The things he does on the ice, it’s just incredible. He’s a really fun player to watch and a really fun player to play against,” Pettersson said.
Asked if there’s one element of McDavid’s game that he found himself wishing he had in his own arsenal, Pettersson was quick to respond.
“It would be fun if I were as fast as him,” he said with a big smile. “I’ll have to work on that.”
He also poked fun at himself over his comment last month about McDavid being a “top-five player.”
“I got mocked a little bit for saying he’s a top-five player,” he said with a grin. “If you asked most of the guys in the league, most of the guys would say he’s the best guy in the league and I would say the same.”
Pettersson drew a big laugh in the middle of a response about his favourite game so far: he was quick to cite the 7-6 thriller in November against the Colorado Avalanche — “the fans were in it, we were in it, the way we won it ... just such a fun game” — before being reminded about his debut game against at the Calgary Flames when he scored his sensational first goal.
“Oh yeah, of course that was nice, too,” he said, before pausing. “OK, two games.”