It’s a tale as old as time in the prospect world.
Punch well above your skill range and rack up points, or warm the bench among the higher ranks.
This development path is a familiar one, especially within the KHL and SHL circuits, and Elias Pettersson, also known as D-Petey, is just the latest Vancouver Canucks prospect to play musical chairs.
Despite an impressive stint at the J20 Nationell level, where he notched seven assists in just four matches, Pettersson’s ice time at the SHL level had been painfully scarce. 
Although he “officially” suited up for four (SHL) games, he enjoyed a mere 2:51 seconds of action during that stretch – all of which came in one game.
Something had to change.
As Faber reported on Monday, Örebro loaned the young defenceman to the Allsvenskan to play for his hometown club team, Västerås, where he initially developed his game as a youngster.
When it comes to skill level, this league sits somewhere between the ECHL and AHL ranks. While it might be seen as a step back from the 43 SHL matches he played the previous year, prioritizing ice time for his development is the key takeaway. 
If that means playing in the Allsvenskan, then so be it.
It didn’t take long for Pettersson to find his groove. In this clip, you’ll see him pick up the puck from behind his own corner and gingerly make his way up the ice to grab his first assist with his new club. It only took him 11 minutes to make this impact on the scoresheet.
Shortly after, in the second period, he set up his new pairing partner for his second assist of the game.
Skating on the third pairing, he saw just over 15 minutes of ice time. Along with his two assists, he also had a shot on goal, two penalty minutes, and was a plus-one on the night.
Throughout his shifts, he was very engaged at both ends of the ice. He was comfortably jumping into the play at will, making terrific stretch passes to set up opportunities and, well, aggressively clearing the front of his own net in the defensive end.
Honestly, he looked right at home.
Drafted in the third round of the 2022 NHL draft, Pettersson has quickly established himself as an NHL-upside prospect and is considered to be a very nice find for the Canucks organization. With that in mind, it’s incredibly beneficial that we see him play as many minutes as possible.
Now that he has found a steady home, we can sit back and enjoy his hopeful development throughout the season.
Get your tickets for the CanucksArmy Kick-Off Party when we will all get together at Greta Bar YVR to watch the Canucks take on the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, October 14th!