Prospect Info: Canucks select D Elias Pettersson , 3rd Round, 80th Overall, 2022

[sting101]

I'd go Willander and Mynio as the clear top 2, and probably would have McWard ahead on the basis of talent despite being older. I just don't see much separation from the pack for EP2, he's kind of like a more physical Brisebois.

a more physical Brisebois is a good NHLer. And by more physical were talking from a 2 to a 9

 

[credulous]

a more physical Brisebois is a good NHLer. And by more physical were talking from a 2 to a 9

my reservations about pettersson is that he has no real standout attributes. he's big but not huge. he skates okay but not well. he defends okay but not outstandingly. his puck skills are nowhere near nhl caliber. i can see him getting a look at the nhl level but he's going to have to show a lot of improvement in some aspect of his game to stick

Mynio is probably the nucks dark horse prospect. He's so good defensively already and a good puck mover. He may never be an nhl full timer, but I legit do see him having some games in the future.

yeah mynio seems like he defends well enough that his puck skills will get him a shot at the nhl. the only thing holding him back is his size. if he isn't very good to great at everything else i could see teams going with a bigger less skilled player the way the league is going

 

[Vector]

@credulous He’s 6’4 and 210lbs. Skates excellently. Hell, I’ve got first hand proof of this now. He is still raw, though.

 

[logan5]

my reservations about pettersson is that he has no real standout attributes. he's big but not huge. he skates okay but not well. he defends okay but not outstandingly. his puck skills are nowhere near nhl caliber. i can see him getting a look at the nhl level but he's going to have to show a lot of improvement in some aspect of his game to stick



yeah mynio seems like he defends well enough that his puck skills will get him a shot at the nhl. the only thing holding him back is his size. if he isn't very good to great at everything else i could see teams going with a bigger less skilled player the way the league is going

We will get a lot better idea when the AHL season is about 10 games, and where Pettersson sits on the depth chart.

 

[arttk]

@credulous He’s 6’4 and 210lbs. Skates excellently. Hell, I’ve got first hand proof of this now. He is still raw, though.

Yeah that’s Edler size, that’s a big guy even in NHL standards. I think he probably still can put like 10-15 more pounds. 6’4 225 guy that loves to hit is not that common.

 

[bobbyb2009]

Disappointed he isnt playing today. Wanted to see more of him, but that is just impatience.

Edit: He played

 

[arttk]

I wonder frame wise how he compares with Ohlund who is 6’4 and 230ish lbs. if DPetey can play at that size, he’s going to be tough to play against.

He doesn’t look like the lanky type.

Disappointed he isnt playing today. Wanted to see more of him, but that is just impatience.

He just scored

 

[bobbyb2009]

I wonder frame wise how he compares with Ohlund who is 6’4 and 230ish lbs. if DPetey can play at that size, he’s going to be tough to play against.

He doesn’t look like the lanky type.


He just scored

Thanks. I caught that...

 

[Hodgy]

He definitely is toolsy, but I stand by my earlier assertion that his decision making isn’t great.

 

[andora]

He definitely is toolsy, but I stand by my earlier assertion that his decision making isn’t great.

probably excited nerves + adjustment period and decision making should be fine - he is probably doing a lot of things right now that aren't characteristic to what brought him along. the year i watched 20 or so of his games his decision making was a strength as he was simple and boring .. he'll get back there

 

[ohnoeszz]

He definitely is toolsy, but I stand by my earlier assertion that his decision making isn’t great.

???

Did we watch the same player?

This last game, he ended tons of rushes before they started and when in a bad spot he smartly put the puck into safe spots with area passes.

He had one bad stretch pass attempt up the middle in his own zone. He connected on multiple stretch passes that put the play into the opponents dzone.

When he faced a 3 on 2 with the puck coming down his side, rather than attack the puck carrier, he smartly sagged to sit on the center rusher allowing his partner to leave Center and defend the cross-ice pass to the opposite wing. He still had position in front of the pass to the center player and could challenge the puck carriers shot if they walked in much further.

That puck went crossing and was broken up negating a dangerous 3 on 2 setup.

There were a lot of plays where he read the play coming up ice and was there to use his length at the right time and disrupt things with a simple poke.

I see no issue with decision making or thinking the game - in fact, compared to his teammates I would say he was one of the players most ahead of the play intellectually. His hands and puck handling creativity are average but I don't think this will hinder him in the same manner that Edler could play with high end offensive player.

I think he has a clear NHL future and he could be an Ekholm type at the very top end of his outcomes. It's going to be better for him to build a top 4 game at the AHL level rather than jump into a bottom 6 role as fast as possible.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

Yeah, I'd say he's easily our #2 D prospect. Öhlund without the offense would still be a top 4 guy.
I don't see much more than a tweener with McWard. Mynio seems to have some upside to his game, but physically he's got a long way to go. Kudryavtsev seems to be D-Petey's biggest competition, prospect-wise, but... and I know the prospects games are not a great indicator... he seemed to get walked a lot.

 

[tanti9]

???

Did we watch the same player?

This last game, he ended tons of rushes before they started and when in a bad spot he smartly put the puck into safe spots with area passes.

He had one bad stretch pass attempt up the middle in his own zone. He connected on multiple stretch passes that put the play into the opponents dzone.

When he faced a 3 on 2 with the puck coming down his side, rather than attack the puck carrier, he smartly sagged to sit on the center rusher allowing his partner to leave Center and defend the cross-ice pass to the opposite wing. He still had position in front of the pass to the center player and could challenge the puck carriers shot if they walked in much further.

That puck went crossing and was broken up negating a dangerous 3 on 2 setup.

There were a lot of plays where he read the play coming up ice and was there to use his length at the right time and disrupt things with a simple poke.

I see no issue with decision making or thinking the game - in fact, compared to his teammates I would say he was one of the players most ahead of the play intellectually. His hands and puck handling creativity are average but I don't think this will hinder him in the same manner that Edler could play with high end offensive player.

I think he has a clear NHL future and he could be an Ekholm type at the very top end of his outcomes. It's going to be better for him to build a top 4 game at the AHL level rather than jump into a bottom 6 role as fast as possible.

Just curious, did you see the games live? I am also following this prospect and like what I have seen and heard. Not every player needs to be superstar but they do need to find a role. D-Petey, I believe, can turn into a serviceable #3, who can kill penalties and pair with a partner that allows his partner to be more offensive. Canucks may not have many "blue chip" prospects but have done well in their drafting lately and have targeted players with some intriguing high end skill. Only the future will tell, but I am intrigued by many of their players and their potential and some can be trade assets.

 

[RobsonStreet]

I think he has a clear NHL future and he could be an Ekholm type at the very top end of his outcomes. It's going to be better for him to build a top 4 game at the AHL level rather than jump into a bottom 6 role as fast as possible.

I know people like to compare players based on nationality (“he’s Ohlund, he’s Brodin, he’s Ekholm”), but putting county of origin aside, Pettersson reminds me of Ian Cole.

 

[Hodgy]

Yeah, I'd say he's easily our #2 D prospect. Öhlund without the offense would still be a top 4 guy.
I don't see much more than a tweener with McWard. Mynio seems to have some upside to his game, but physically he's got a long way to go. Kudryavtsev seems to be D-Petey's biggest competition, prospect-wise, but... and I know the prospects games are not a great indicator... he seemed to get walked a lot.

Ohlund was a way better defensive player than EP2 projects to be.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

Ohlund was a way better defensive player than EP2 projects to be.

We'll see.
I agree, Öhland, even if we just consider his defence, was probably still an All-Star. That's a lot to put on any 3rd round pick. But, I'd project D-Petey's absolute ceiling to be in that neighbourhood. Speaking realistically though... a stay-at-home shut down defenceman who's hard to play against and can stabilize a 2nd pairing doesn't seem to be an insane outcome to hope for.

 

[VanJack]

I see a lot of Alex Edler qualities in D-Petey's game, perhaps minus some of the offense. Both guys could hit to hurt, and you can never have enough truculence like that on your blueline.

And I was actually pleasantly surprised by some of the offensive flair he showed in the Young-Stars tournament. Seemed to be rushing the puck more and finding the open guy on the breakouts. It's a big development year for him for sure in Abbotsford.

But I can see him one day playing on the blueline for the parent Canucks--maybe as a left-shot, stay-at-home d-man paired with Tom Wilander?

 

[Javaman]

Based on last night's game against the Kraken, he definitely needs more seasoning in the AHL.

On a bit of a tangent, I noticed his jersey nameplate said "E. Pettersson." I was a bit surprised by that: why not just go with "Pettersson?"

Still mildly disappointed he wasn't assigned 42 as his jersey number.

 

[VanJack]

The blueline probably one of the toughest positions in hockey to break into the NHL. Center is a close second.

So hardly a surprise that D-Petey struggled at times against the Kraken, who are a quick team. As a 20 year old d-man, a year or two in the AHL is almost a given. Even Alex Edler spent 49 games in the AHL with the Moose, and those Canuck teams that he was trying to break into weren't nearly as strong as the current edition of the Canucks.

And playing 20-plus minutes a night in all situations in Abbotfsord will transform him as a player, once he fully adjust to the smaller NA ice.

 

[krutovsdonut]

i remain very high on this guy even though he got schooled last night a few times. you never know if a player can take the nhl pace but i think i see lots of indications he has the focus and drive to get himself there if he has the tools.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

So, he’s been called up. That’s awesome.

Now, does he actually get any game time?

 

[VanJack]

So, he’s been called up. That’s awesome.

Now, does he actually get any game time?

Not sure what to read into the fact that a 20-year old d-man with just over 10 AHL games to his credit is your first call-up from the farm.

One the one hand, it's great that D-Petey has cemented himself as a legit NHL prospect. On the other hand when a raw rookie like that is your best AHL d-man, it doesn't speak volumes about some of the other AHL blueliners you have on your roster.

 

[arttk]

Not sure what to read into the fact that a 20-year old d-man with just over 10 AHL games to his credit is your first call-up from the farm.

One the one hand, it's great that D-Petey has cemented himself as a legit NHL prospect. On the other hand when a raw rookie like that is your best AHL d-man, it doesn't speak volumes about some of the other AHL blueliners you have on your roster.

Well Friedman is concussed, breisbois missed a season from concussion and Brannstrom was the actual 1st call up.

 

[Jerry the great]

Not sure what to read into the fact that a 20-year old d-man with just over 10 AHL games to his credit is your first call-up from the farm.

One the one hand, it's great that D-Petey has cemented himself as a legit NHL prospect. On the other hand when a raw rookie like that is your best AHL d-man, it doesn't speak volumes about some of the other AHL blueliners you have on your roster.

my gut says this is a showcase. If the Canucks and Penguins are talking about Markus Pettersson, i can see them asking for Elias as one of the pieces back.