Elias Pettersson is doing well with the Vancouver Canucks right now. No, not that Elias Pettersson, the other one.
Yes, Elias Pettersson the defenceman is the subject of this article. Call him what you want: D-Petey, Junior, Pettersson the Second or whatever. The young Swedish blueliner was drafted in the third round (80th overall) back in 2022.
There were jokes back then and endless Spider-Man pointing memes of the Canucks having two Elias Petterssons. The jokes did not die in 2025 as the younger Pettersson is getting his feet wet in the NHL.
But there are now three Petterssons as the Canucks Marcus last week, just hours after dealing JT Miller to the New York Rangers.
While things have not been all great or perfect, the Canucks seem to be treading better than they were before Miller got traded. D-Petey has been a pleasant surprise.
Pettersson has been a solid defensive presence.
No one expected Pettersson to be this good just five games into his NHL career. So far, the soon-to-be 21-year-old (on February 16) has not looked out of place in the NHL.
This is his first full year playing in North America. With the Abbotsford Canucks, he has impressed and managed to score a goal and tally 13 assists. Pettersson was even named an AHL all-star.
It seems that playing in the big leagues does not phase the young defenceman. He looks calm and poised out there as he moves the puck.
Pettersson looks very defensively sound as well. He’s been good at retrieving the puck in the defensive zone and winning battles. The young Swede isn’t afraid to get physical as well.
What is interesting about Pettersson the defenceman that he isn’t afraid to shoot the puck. He had three shots on goal in Thursday’s game against the San Jose Sharks. Now if only the other Elias Pettersson shot the puck as much.
It’s a very small sample size so far. However, in the five games of his NHL career, Pettersson has the lowest expected goals against (2.05), scoring chances against (22) and high danger chances against (5) among Canucks defencemen who played at least 60 minutes.
Small sample size but impressive for a young defenceman. It’s clear Pettersson is doing well early in his career.
How good can D-Petey be?
Pettersson still has a long way to go before he can be a full-time NHL player. Given the way he is playing so far, he should be in the lineup with the big club until further notice.
DobberProspects projects D-Petey to become a solid second or third-pairing defenceman. So far, he is showing flashes of it in more ways than one.
It seems the Canucks have something in Pettersson the defenceman. It’s early in his career, but he is looking like a legitimate NHL defenceman and could be sooner than anyone expected.
*Advanced stats are courtesy of NaturalStatTrick.
