After struggling for ice time but also wanting to stay in a men’s league, Vancouver Canucks prospect Elias Pettersson (D-Petey) has been loaned to Västerås in the Allsvenskan league.
The Allsvenskan is Sweden’s second tier division of men’s hockey. Teams fight for promotion from the Allsvenskan to be able to play in the SHL.
Västerås is currently fifth on the Allsvenskan standings, holding a 1-1-1-0 record. (Wins-Losses-OT Losses-Regulation Losses)
D-Petey should get much more ice time in the Allsvenskan as he joins a team where there are no NHL-drafted players on the roster.
A couple of names who are on the team that we recognized were Kyle Topping, who played for the Kelowna Rockets in the WHL and Jared Dmytriw, who was a captain for the Vancouver Giants during the 2018-19 season.
D-Petey was selected in the third round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and has consistently been a top-five prospect in our rankings over the past 12 months.
The hope is that Pettersson can get his minutes up closer to 20 per night instead of the 43 seconds of average ice time he has received through the four SHL games that he has dressed for this season with Örebro.
And yes, the same Örebro team that Jonathan Lekkerimäki has been scoring goals with over the past few weeks.
Pettersson has had a lot of success in the J20 league this season with seven points in four games on the junior circuit.
D-Petey is simply too good for the junior league but not quite at the level to earn minutes with Örebro’s strong defence corps. Pettersson dressed for 43 SHL games last year but cannot find the same usage early on in this SHL season.
Örebro’s press release spoke about the SHL club working with the Vancouver Canucks to get Pettersson playing time in a men’s league.
“We have for some time, in consultation with Vancouver, tried to find a solution for Elias to get playing time in a senior environment. Now we have found a solution where Elias is loaned to Västerås, where he gets the opportunity.”
It’s nice to hear that the Canucks were actively trying to get D-Petey minutes in a men’s league and though a demotion is never the perfect scenario, this result will bring Pettersson much more ice time at a critical age of his development.
Pettersson is currently 19 years old and will be relied upon to be one of Sweden’s biggest minute-munchers at this upcoming World Junior Championships — which happens to be in Sweden this year.
Keep an eye out for D-Petey updates in our Tuesday column: The Blackfish Prospect Report.
