The Canucks will now have two Elias Petterssons. Or Elias Peterson. Eliasi?
Yes, you read that title correctly. The Vancouver Canucks selected Elias Petersson 80th overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.
No, not that Elias Peterson. There is one more. The Canucks now have two Elias Petterssons or Eliases Pettersson.
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 Greg Adams and Greg C. Adams in the 1988-89 season.
This year’s Elias Pettersson is a defenseman from Jørebru HC in the SHL and is a very different player than the Elias Pettersson the Canucks already have.
Elias Petersson is a reliable defender with limited offense, but has a good combination of size at 6’2” and speed.
“He plays physical and shows a lot of poise under pressure, using his mobility and arm to close gaps, sometimes with force,” Elite Prospects’ Jimmy Hamrin said. “Everything is there to be effective defensively in the NHL in a bottom-pairing role.”
“[Pettersson] brings good physicality, a smart stick and high-quality skating,” says Cam Robinson.
While he’s unlikely to score points, he’s a decent puck-mover out of the defensive zone, with a strong first pass and the ability to avoid forecheckers with some guile and decent puck-handling skills in addition to his mobile skating.
“Elias’ best trait is probably how, when he plays with confidence, he can use his skating ability to escape pressure and open up plays on the break,” reads his scouting report from Draftin Europe. “He handles the puck well and can spin it, curl it or cut it. He makes fine and effective outlet passes to his center on the break. He has the tools to potentially beat the first forechecker at the next level and initiate the rush.”
As with any third-rounder, Elias Pettersson comes with drawbacks, not the least of which is that he’s extremely hard to find on Google.
In terms of actual flaws, he is a calm and level-headed defender, but has been criticized for being too calm and lacking urgency at times.
“He’s too sloppy with some of his passes in the defensive zone,” says Draftin Europe. “For a player his size, Peterson needs to get into tackles better.”
Petersson scored 10 goals and 18 points in 37 games in the J20 Nationell Junior League in Sweden, but improved his play in the playoffs with 10 points in 6 games. Most importantly, he spent some time in the SHL, a good sign for a teenage defenseman.
In 17 games with Jørebru, Pettersson averaged just 6:23 of ice time, but that’s skewed downward by several games where he was in the lineup but didn’t play, with teams allowed to dress 7 defensemen in the SHL. Peterson had a few games where he played more than 10 minutes, peaking at 16:46 in a game in February. That shows a lot of confidence in an 18-year-old defender.
Fun fact: Elias Peterson says his favorite NHL player is Elias Peterson.
The real question is what will the Canucks do when they have two Elias Petterssons in the lineup? They will need to put their middle initials on the name strips.
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