Alrightee Then, Canucks Draft Elias Pettersson … Again

This Elias Pettersson is a large, hard hitting D-man who focuses on his own end, as the Vancouver Canucks and their new General Manager Patrik Allvin stuck to his native Sweden thru their first two selections of the 2022 NHL Draft. This “Petey” was taken in the 3rd-round, 80th overall.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound left-shot blueliner hails from Vasteras, about halfway between Allvin’s hometown of Leksand and the capital city of Stockholm. Pettersson split his season with the Orebro junior team and the club’s Swedish Hockey League squad. He played 17 games with the big boys in the SHL and chipped in an assist. He was a plus player at both levels.

His favourite NHL team: The Vancouver Canucks. It turns out Elias Pettersson is a big fan of Elias Pettersson.

“I know him,” Elias 2.0 said, when he actually meant that he knows of him, and is a fan, but has never met the Vancouver Canucks star.

He’ll have his chance soon enough.

In the meantime, this Pettersson will head to Vancouver to meet and skate with the franchise’s top prospects at Vancouver Canucks Development Camp starting on Sunday.

He’ll join 15th overall pick Jonathan Lekkerimaki and a handful of other Swedes who Allvin has signed to join the hockey club, free agent Linus Karlsson among them.

The Elite Prospects Draft Guide said of blueline Pettersson:

“Pettersson is a durable defensive prospect with good size and speed,” Elite Prospects Swedish regional scout Jimmy Hamrin remarked in his season-ending report. “He plays physically and shows a lot of poise under pressure, using his mobility and reach to close gaps, occasionally with force. Everything is there for him to be defensively effective in the NHL in a bottom-pairing role.”

Apparently it is the sixth time in NHL history that two players with the same name have been drafted by the same franchise.