Teams trying to get under Alien’s skin
Brock Boeser can’t pinpoint the precise moment it started, but as he makes his way through this NHL season as Elias Pettersson’s wing man, he’s noticed a not-sosubtle change in the way other teams play the Canucks’ prize rookie.
Take the most recent trip to California. In Anaheim, a scrum breaks out in front of Vancouver’s net and the first person Ryan Kesler grabs is, guess who? A night later in Los Angeles, Anze Kopitar, a former Lady Byng winner, is giving Pettersson some extra love.
Thursday night against Phoenix, Pettersson exchanges whacks with Conor Garland and eventually shoulders the Coyotes’ forward to the ice.
“If there’s a scrum they’re always grabbing Petey,” Boeser says.
“They’re trying to get under his skin, but he does a good job of not worrying about it. He still plays his game.”
It’s suggested to Boeser that Petterson’s limited English might be a good thing during these moments.
“I don’t know,” he says with a laugh. “I think he knows what most guys say, but he looks at me and we just laugh it off. You expect that stuff to happen.”
And look at it this way: It might be the ultimate compliment to the Boy Wonder.
In his stunning rookie campaign, Pettersson finds himself confronting a complicated world for which he’s had inadequate preparation. As the new face of the franchise, there are the off-ice demands and the media game to play. There is the incessant scrutiny of a fan base that has been waiting for a new hero. There is the weight of carrying a mediocre team though its first playoff drive in four years.
But here’s the larger point: Pettersson faces those challenges because he’s so damn good at his primary purpose, playing hockey. As such, he’s now receiving the kind of attention afforded to every star player over the last century or so — attention that is very much a part of his on-thejob training.
As with most things related to the game, he’s handled it well. But you have to keep reminding yourself this is a kid who has just turned 20, who’s 8,000 kilometres from home and is experiencing this stuff for the first time.
That might be the most impressive aspect of his impressive season.
“At the start they didn’t pay much attention to me,” Pettersson says. “I think now they’re trying to put a little more pressure
on me or get under my skin or trash talk. But it’s good if they focus on me. I don’t get affected by that. If they put too much focus on me, other guys will be open. If I get frustrated, they get what they want.”
Spoken like a 10-year vet. But can he play like one down the stretch? It might be an unfair expectation, but that’s the territory Pettersson has carved out for himself.
Since returning from the AllStar break, the slender Swede hasn’t had one of those monster games that made him the talk of the NHL. But he’s gone about his business with a quiet sense of purpose, producing three goals and six assists over the past 10 games while going up against the other team’s best on a nightly basis.
He’s also aware he must get used to that attention and find a way to play through it, a rite of passage for every one of the game’s great players. The good news is Pettersson, as we’ve seen, isn’t one to shy away from challenges.
The other news is he drives the offence on a team that has three scoring threats and the rest of the league is acutely aware if they shut down the rookie, they go a long way toward shutting down the Canucks.
“It’s like Patrick Kane,” says Antoine Roussel, the Canuck forward who’s built a career on his ability to irritate the other team’s stars. “The best player on every team gets that attention. Petey’s been awesome for us but he’s like any other good guy. He’s going to get attention.”
This is no longer a news flash to Pettersson.
“I kind of learned from it this season,” he says. “I didn’t know what to expect, and I was going to take it as it is. Now when I’m playing good and teams are focusing on me, I have to find a way to be successful. It is what it is and I have to find a way around it.”
He has some allies as he navigates his way through this new world. Boeser, a grizzled veteran of 59 more NHL games than Pettersson, is his roommate on the road, and the pair have formed a fast friendship. There’s also a group of veteran Swedes — Alex Edler, Loui Eriksson, Jacob Markstrom — who provide pro bono counselling services.
“I think he gets some help, but he’s a pretty smart kid and he knows what’s going on,” Boeser says.
And if he ever forgets, he’s reminded the minute he steps on the ice.
“I don’t know how much this stuff goes on in the Swedish league, but I’m sure some of this stuff is new,” Boeser adds. “He’s not used to guys trying crap in scrums or taking extra shots. But it’s been going on for a little bit and he’s handling it.”
Pettersson is asked if he’s learned some exciting new English words this season.
“Some,” he says. “But hockey is a language I’m used to.”
One he speaks fluently.