Yes, you read that title right. The Vancouver Canucks selected Elias Pettersson 80th overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. No, not that Elias Petterson. There is another one. The Canucks now have two Elias Petterssons or Eliases Petterssons. The Canucks were already the only team in NHL history to have two players with the same name at the same time when they had both Greg Adams and Greg C. Adams in the 1988-89 season. This year’s Elias Pettersson is a defenseman from Örebro HK in the SHL and is a very different player than the Elias Pettersson the Canucks already have. Elias Pettersson is a reliable defensive shutdown with limited offensive upside, but has a nice combination of size at 6’2” and speed. “He plays physical and looks very calm under pressure, using his mobility and range to close gaps, occasionally with power,” says Jimmy Hamrin of Elite Prospects. “Everything is there for him to be defensively effective in the NHL in a bottom pairing role.” “[Pettersson] he brings good physicality, a smart stick and positive skating,” says Cam Robinson. While he’s not likely to put up points, he’s a decent player coming out of the defensive zone, with a strong first pass and the ability to avoid forechecks with some deception and decent carry skating skills. “Ilias’ best attribute is probably how, when he’s playing with confidence, he can use his skating ability to escape pressure and open up the play on the rebound,” reads his scouting report from Draftin Europe. “He handles the puck well and is able to spin, curl or cut with it. Makes subtle and effective outlet passes to his center on the breakout. He has the tools to potentially win the first screening at the next level and start the rush.” As with any third-rounder, Elias Pettersson has flaws, not the least of which is that he’s extremely difficult to Google. In terms of actual flaws, he is a calm and poised defender, but has been criticized for being too calm and lacking urgency at times. “He’s very loose with some of his passes in the defensive zone,” says Draftin Europe. “For a player his size, Peterson needs to get into tackles better.” Pettersson scored 10 goals and 18 points in 37 games in the J20 Nationell junior league in Sweden, but upped his game in the playoffs with 10 points in 6 games. More importantly, he spent some time in the SHL, a good sign for a teenage defenseman. In 17 games with Örebro, Pettersson averaged just 6:23 of ice time, but that’s down from several games where he was in the lineup but didn’t play, with teams allowed to dress 7 defensemen in the SHL. Pettersson had several games where he played more than 10 minutes, reaching a career high of 16:46 in one game in February. That shows a lot of confidence in an 18-year-old defender. A fun fact: Elias Pettersson says his favorite NHL player is Elias Pettersson. The real question is what will the Canucks do when they have two Elias Pettersons in the lineup? They should put their middle initials in the name lines.
