Canucks prospect Elias Pettersson scores in J20 and continues to impress as an 18-year-old

The more we watch Elias Pettersson, the more we like him.

Have you heard that before?

After the Canucks drafted him in the third round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, the left-shot defenceman has been dynamite to watch early on this season.

Pettersson has dressed for six SHL games this season and four J20 games. In those four J20 games, he has one goal and four assists, scoring his first goal of the year on this wrist shot from the point. That came on an assist from a prospect for the 2023 draft, Kalle Carlsson.

We’ve seen Pettersson have a lot of success and be used in a top-pairing role when he participates in the J20 league this year. His minutes in the SHL are still not quite there but for an 18-year-old kid, just getting time in Sweden’s top league is an accomplishment in its own right.

Pettersson has seen one SHL game where he dressed and didn’t get a shift but in most games, he gets a few shifts and possesses a season-high TOI at the SHL level of 6:31.

We’ve liked what we’ve seen from D-Petey so far this season. He plays a physical game at the SHL and J20 levels, has shown well during international play with the U20 team, and is beginning to unlock more offensive potential than we highlighted when he was drafted back in July. He is eligible to play in the next two World Junior Championships for Sweden and it’s highly likely that he is already on their radar with his play over the past few months.

His strengths are in his skating, his ability to quickly corral pucks in his own zone, and the most obvious thing is his physicality. Pettersson stands at 6’2″ and is already 185+ pounds.

We will have a full prospects recap on Tuesday in our weekly Blackfish Report. It was a big weekend for Canucks prospects as we saw Connor Lockhart light it up for the OHL’s opening weekend of the regular season, NCAA hockey commences, Lucas Forsell gets back in the SHL, and much more. We will see you Tuesday morning for the full week’s recap of what happened to Canucks prospects.