‘Just trying to be me’: Canucks’ Pettersson growing into two-way role

VANCOUVER – Before the season began, and after Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes stated unequivocally that Elias Pettersson was going to have a bounce-back year “because heâ€s a really good player,†we put that simple but essential question to Pettersson.

Is he going to be better than his 45-point National Hockey League nadir last season?

The 26-year-old centre paused, then told Sportsnet: “Well, yeah, that shouldnâ€t be too hard.â€

And then, as God is my witness, Pettersson smiled — a fleeting moment of public-facing humour and self-deprecation.

Fifteen games in, itâ€s hard for anyone to smile.

The team has scuffled to a 7-8-0 start, although a repeat of last seasonâ€s injury tsunami – up to nine players out already and, on Friday, a disconcerting maintenance day for star goalie Thatcher Demko – makes it impossible to draw sweeping conclusions about the Canucks one week into November.

But as the desperate team prepares for back-to-back home games this weekend against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Colorado Avalanche, we know that Pettersson has to score more, even if he is playing better than he did last season.  Â

While the Swedeâ€s three goals and 10 points in 15 games are disappointing, he is doing nearly all the heavy lifting in matchups and has earned repeated praise from coach Adam Foote for his defensive work.

For the first time in eight NHL seasons, Pettersson is starting as many five-on-five shifts in the defensive zone as the offensive one. And although his shots-for percentage of 45.1 is a career-low, the Canucks have outscored opponents 6-5 in Petterssonâ€s five-on-five minutes, and the centreâ€s expected-goals-for of 50.9 per cent still leads Vancouver forwards who have played at least seven games.

The strength and weight that Pettersson added in the off-season has been evident in some puck battles, like the one he won against Ryan Oâ€Reilly in Nashville to set up Brock Boeserâ€s overtime winner on Monday, and the Canuckâ€s 31 blocked shots are 10 more than any other NHL forward except Auston Matthews (27).

“Some bruises, but it would hurt a lot more if the puck went in (our net),†Pettersson said after Fridayâ€s practice at Rogers Arena. “I don’t mind blocking shots. I was a soccer goalie at a young age, so I still have those instincts.â€

Really, a goalkeeper in soccer?

“It started with my big brother back home in our yard,†he explained. “We had a soccer net when I was younger, so he put me in net and obviously he was shooting. But then I turned out pretty good at it from a young age. Grade eight, I just played hockey, so yeah, (soccer until) grade seven. I still love playing soccer here and there with my friends back home.â€

He also said he loves the minutes (19:52) and top-line matchup role Foote has him playing.

Pettersson is doing a lot right despite the increased burden that he faces due to the lack of a second top-six centre in Vancouver and, lately, even an established third-line pivot.

But there is no escaping the alarm that is ringing loudest: just 23 shots on goal through 15 games.

Petterssonâ€s drop pass to Evander Kane while being caught on a partial breakaway Wednesday against the Chicago Blackhawks has gotten too much attention, and might not have had any had Kane simply released a quality shot on target instead of losing the puck while stickhandling. But Petterssonâ€s reluctance to shoot is troubling.

He appears to be skating and handling the puck more confidently than he did during his disastrous season a year ago, but his 1.53 shots-per-game in all situations is by far the lowest of his career.

Yes, 15 games are a small sample, but Pettersson is averaging one full shot per game less than he did during his best seasons.

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Obviously, there is likely some basic psychology involved here. After last season and amid all the pressure on him now, Pettersson is making safer plays by passing the puck. There is more risk to shooting — far less chance of scoring than completing a nice pass.

But with so few offensive weapons, the Canucks need Pettersson to shoot.

And with his $92.8-million contract, Pettersson must score.

“I agree, I can shoot more,†he said. “There’s nothing hindering me from shooting. I think Iâ€ve always been a pass-first guy, and if I think I could put someone else in a better position to score, then I always do that. That’s how I see the game. Iâ€ve always been like that. But I also know I have a good shot.

“Definitely, I think, it’s a mindset that I can be better at. Like, I know I have a good shot, but maybe I haven’t scored as much lately, so Iâ€m trying to find a good pass instead. It’s a mindset. I know I can score, but yeah, I’m always trying to find the perfect play.â€

With centre J.T. Miller traded and Pius Suter gone in free agency, and lottery-ticket pickup Lukas Reichel pointless through his first seven games as a Canuck, Foote has little choice but to lean on Pettersson.

Whether they want the matchups or not – and Foote and Pettersson do – Vancouverâ€s top centre is going to see the oppositionâ€s best players because there isnâ€t another line to draw them away.

“There’s times when you could cheat a little bit for offence,†Pettersson said, “but then most of the time when you try that, it usually ends up with a good (scoring) chance the other way. So, yeah, Iâ€m trying to play defence-first. It’s a very fine line. I mean, there’s always different scenarios. Say, if we’re down a goal late. . . you might cheat a little more for offence. So a lot of game management goes into that.â€

In his early years in the NHL, like when Pettersson won the Calder Trophy in 2019, the Canuckâ€s shiftiness with the puck, hockey IQ and discipline drew comparisons to Pavel Datsyuk, the former Detroit Red Wing who won three Selke Trophies on his way to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Pettersson said Datsyuk and Swedish hockey legend Peter Forsberg were the players he idolized growing up near Sundsvall in Northern Sweden.

“I never played against him, but I remember seeing him at the world championship the year before (coming to) Vancouver,†Pettersson said of Datsyuk. “And I just remember, like, freezing up ‘Oh, expletive, thatâ€s him.â€Â

“It would be hard to mimic his game fully. That would be hard. But, I mean, Iâ€m just trying to be me out there. Iâ€m trying to read plays and sometimes it goes wrong, but most times it goes right. Iâ€m just trying to play hard in the right way.â€

Datsyuk had 918 points in 953 regular-season NHL games, but was regarded as one of the best two-way players in the world. He also won a pair of Stanley Cups.

The Canucks won a non-pandemic playoff round just once in Petterssonâ€s first seven seasons, and the team faces a mighty challenge to make the Stanley Cup tournament this year. A lot of factors must go right for that to happen, but one of the most basic is superior play (and scoring) from Pettersson.

“Itâ€s pressure on me, but thatâ€s a very good problem to have in life,†he said before the season. “Iâ€m very fortunate to be doing what Iâ€m doing, and if I understand that, life becomes easier.â€

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