Elias Pettersson gets compared to Wayne Gretzky

The Elias Pettersson hype is bigger than ever.

After the Canucks’ high-skilled offensive prospect impressed in the season opener against the Flames on Wednesday evening, several big name hockey insiders were quick to sing his praise.

The compliments reached new heights Friday when Sportsnet’s John Shannon included the great Wayne Gretzky when talking about the young Swedish centerman.

One NHL game and already being compared to the greatest hockey player of all time. Barely any 19-year-old hockey players will even ever be able to say they were mentioned in the same sentence as the great one.

There are tons of players who have a better shot than Gretzky, but it was his hockey sense, vision, creativity and more that set him apart from everyone during his playing time.

This is obviously a nice compliment for Pettersson, but most fans know when to pump the brakes. Safe to say the hype is getting a bit much for a guy who has a grand total of one NHL game under his belt.

Pettersson is going to be a very special player, but it’s best to let him do his thing and build his name at the NHL level.

After playing for Sweden at both the World Junior Championships and World Championships last season, leading the Vaxjo Lakers HC to the Swedish League Championship, winning the scoring title and being named the regular-season and playoff MVP, Pettersson has finally arrived to the show — and people are rightfully excited.

With all the hype aside, it’s going be a treat to see this kid develop and do his thing for the Canucks.