After the JT Miller trade and Quinn Hughes’ injury, Elias Pettersson becomes the only skater representing the Vancouver Canucks at the 4 Nations Face-off – goaltender Kevin Lankinen is also playing for Team Finland.
With the first few practices already underway, we can now see who Pettersson is paired with on a line.
Pettersson is playing alongside Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg and Los Angeles Kings winger Adrian Kempe.
In an interview with Sportsnet 650’s Randip Janda, Forsberg shared his preference to play with the Canucks forward:
“There’s an overload of talent. I think just up the middle, I think Elias Pettersson is somebody that has done so well in this league. Watching him come out of Sweden a few years ago and how he’s transitioned to the NHL and has become a superstar in this league. That’s somebody that I’m looking forward to playing with that I haven’t played with before. That will be exciting.”
Forsberg also added William Nylander as somebody he would want to play with.
The trio led each line in points last season, finishing with 39 more than the second-best line. This season, Forsberg leads the trio with 53 points, Kempe is not far behind with 46 points, and Pettersson has 34 points. While they’ve never played together before, Pettersson is confident about building chemistry with his new linemates:
“I think good players find chemistry right away,” Pettersson shared. “The more puck possession we have, the more we’ll find each other.”
While it hasn’t been the strongest first half of the season for Pettersson, Team Sweden’s coach, Sam Hallam, shared his thoughts on Pettersson’s line and how he’s surrounding him with solid wingers:
“They’re all players that can make plays from tough situations, but with Kempe and Forsberg on the wings, you have some power around ‘Petey,'” Hallam said. “I’ve coached Petey before. I know how intelligent and how skilled he is. We want to give him a chance to have two really strong wingers on each side, and Kempe plays a big role.”
Pettersson would later describe Kempe as a speedy player who can make plays and is a pure goal-scorer.
Team Sweden opens up the tournament on Wednesday, February 12, when they take on Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet and Team Canada. Elias Pettersson will play a premier role playing alongside two high-profile linemates, Filip Forsberg and Adrian Kempe.