Elias Pettersson is a complete hockey player. Not only is he immensely skilled, with buttery-soft hands and incredible vision, but he also has surprising speed and fantastic awareness both offensively and defensively. His combination of creativity and hockey iq make him both fun to watch and effective at both ends of the ice.
The one knock against him is that he’s easy to knock around. Even hearing the reports of his slight build doesn’t prepare you for just how skinny he is in person. That’s concerning for two reasons: the first is that he’ll be in tough in puck battles against larger opponents in the NHL. The second is that his smaller size could lead to more injuries.
So when Pettersson left the first game of the World Junior Summer Showcase with an injury, it was understandably concerning for Canucks fans. Hearing that he aggravated a previously existing injury certainly didn’t help matters.
The last time the Canucks drafted a hopeful first-line centre in the top-ten, a back injury and subsequent misdiagnosis derailed his time in Vancouver and he never seemed to fully recover his game. It’s no wonder Canucks fans can be a bit gun-shy when it comes to their top prospects.
But there’s no need to panic just yet. Injuries are a part of every hockey player’s career and the fact that he left a meaningless exhibition game for a team that he is essentially guaranteed to make should not be a major concern. It could simply be precautionary at this point, as there’s no reason to take any risks at the summer showcase event.
Pettersson left the game after taking a hit from USA Blue’s Trent Frederic, a first-round draft pick of the Boston Bruins, which seems somehow appropriate.
LRT: Not sure where #Canucks prospect Elias Pettersson's injury was but I'm pretty sure it happened after he took this hit: pic.twitter.com/Zq3vwyukyt
— Vanessa Jang (@vanessajang) July 30, 2017
Otherwise, Pettersson played relatively well in the 4-3 win for Sweden, comporting himself well in puck battles against larger opposition and demonstrating his distribution skills with crisp passing. He showed great defensive awareness as well, at one point neatly knocking down a saucer pass and sparking a rush the other way. On the shift he got injured, he took away what looked to be a sure goal for Jason Robertson with a quick stick-check.
What might be concerning than the injury is that Pettersson wasn’t playing at centre. The Canucks are depending on Pettersson developing into a top-six NHL centre, but he did play most of last season on left wing with Timra IK. He moved to centre late in the season and played well there, but Sweden has him back on the left wing.
Instead, New York Rangers 7th overall pick Lias Andersson centred Pettersson on the second line with a trio of older forwards ahead of them on the first line. How much do you want to bet that Andersson versus Pettersson becomes one of the storylines Canucks fans follow over the next few years?
That said, Pettersson’s vision, playmaking, and two-way play make him a solid bet for a future at centre. Fans shouldn’t be too concerned about where he plays on Sweden’s national junior team, which will feature a number of top centres that need to fit into the lineup.
Likewise, fans shouldn’t freak out about Pettersson’s injury in the middle of summer. He’ll have plenty of time to rest, train, and be ready for the start of the season.
That said, at his size, durability will always be on the minds of Canucks fans when it comes to Pettersson and every injury will have people wondering about his long-term viability in the NHL. Should that be the case? Considering how he's held up against men in the Allsvenskan, probably not.
Pettersson seems to be able to handle himself well against physical play and we saw a bit of it in the Summer Showcase game. He generally chooses to absorb hits with smart positioning rather than try to out-battle his opponent and in puck battles, he makes good use of his skates and stick to protect the puck or divest it from his opponent instead of trying to win through sheer strength.
Until it becomes a real, reported issue, Canucks fans should relax when it comes to Pettersson's durability.
UPDATE: And just like that, confirmation that there was no need to panic:
Sweden coach says Elias Pettersson (VAN) went through practice today and should be in lineup Wednesday
— Adam Kimelman (@NHLAdamK) July 31, 2017
