Penticton, BC — Elias Pettersson knows the pressure he’s under coming into this year’s Vancouver Canucks training camp. And he’s come to Penticton with the right mindset.

“I’m trying to not let things distract me. Maybe they did in recent years, or last year, but I’m still growing,” Pettersson told reporters on Thursday. “I’m not perfect and what’s in the past is in the past. I’m just looking forward to what’s ahead.”

Pettersson’s struggles last year have been well-documented. Injuries limited his scoring capability to start the season, behind-the-scenes disagreements with JT Miller spilled onto the ice, and the Canucks’ momentum as a group after the 2024 playoffs was undone in one year. But a 26-year-old Pettersson is only focusing on what he can control now.

His summer provided a prime example. Pettersson says he’s added an additional 12 pounds of muscle during the offseason, and he’s already noticed a difference. “Shot’s a little harder. Just overall feel stronger and better,” Pettersson said. “I said in the exit meetings I was going to use the extra time with the missed playoffs, and I think I did and I’m happy where I’m at.”

Pettersson spent the first day of camp with the clearest combo of the day, centring a line between Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk. DeBrusk and Pettersson had a fair bit of chemistry in their first year teaming up, resulting in DeBrusk’s new career-high in goals (28). “He plays with a lot of speed and can score goals, good on the forecheck,” Pettersson said about DeBrusk.

Boeser has spent the majority of the last few years playing on J.T. Miller’s wing. He and Pettersson’s time reunited after Miller was traded to the Rangers wasn’t as productive as it has been in years’ past, but Pettersson believes their history will shine through over the course of the week. “Obviously we have some chemistry from the past, but yeah, I’m just excited to be here again and start training.”

In Adam Foote’s press conference on Wednesday, he noted that getting more players involved in the rush was going to be key. Those plans already showed up in Thursday’s skates, and Pettersson sees it as a good starting point. “We need to obviously play better defense, but good defense leads to good offense,” Pettersson said. “And I like where the coaches are at so far.”

Foote and Pettersson met up in Michigan during the offseason, alongside Quinn Hughes and Thatcher Demko, to discuss expectations for the year ahead. Playing an adaptable brand of hockey (another major point during Foote’s first availability) was no doubt a big part of those conversations. Pettersson is prepared to buy in to Foote’s plans and build on the working relationship they’ve had over the last two years.

“If you only do one thing, it’s going to be easy for teams to read us, so I think it’s good,” Pettersson said. “[Foote] obviously wants the best for me. We’ve had talks in previous years as well, just one-on-ones. He always wants the best out of you. And yeah, I look forward to the relationship.”

For the rest of Pettersson’s first media scrum of the season, watch the video on the CanucksArmy YouTube channel below:

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