Vancouver Canucks defenceman Elias Pettersson is set to make his NHL debut against the Washington Capitals on Saturday night.

Based on line rushes at morning skate, Pettersson will play on the Canucks’ second pairing alongside Carson Soucy, who will move to the right side.

“It means a lot,” Pettersson said Saturday morning. “I’m really excited and it’s going to be fun… I’m just really happy to be here.”

Not to be confused with the centre who shares the same name, Elias Pettersson pronounces his first name [i-ly-us] while Elias Pettersson is obviously pronounced [Uh-lee-us]. This will be the first regular season NHL game the two Elias Petterssons play together.

During training camp and the preseason, Pettersson, the defenceman, wore jersey number 25 with the name bar “E.Pettersson”. You see? It’s not confusing at all!

“He’s played really well down there,” said Rick Tocchet on getting the 20-year-old Pettersson into the lineup. “Love his enthusiasm, we need that. He can skate, he’s physical, it’s the exact attributes we need, and he can move the puck. Definitely wanted to give him a chance.”

The Canucks drafted Pettersson with the 80th overall pick in the third round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. After playing his D+1 year in Sweden, Pettersson has excelled with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks this season. Through 36 AHL games this year, Pettersson has tallied one goal and 12 assists while being one of Abbotsford’s most trusted shutdown defenceman. He was named an AHL All-Star earlier this month.

A big stay-at-home defenceman, Pettersson has shown solid puck-moving ability with both a sharp first pass and good skating tools. Whether this is just a one or two game audition for Pettersson remains to be seen, as tonight is the final game of Tyler Myers’ three-game suspension. No matter what, it’s an exciting day for Pettersson and his family.

Puck drop between the Capitals and Canucks is set for just after 7 PM from Rogers Arena.