You are not misinterpreting this headline.
It’s the second day of the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal, and with their second pick, the Vancouver Canucks have selected left-back Elias Pettersson in the third round in 80th place overall.
With 6’2 ”and 185 pounds, Pettersson is a bigger defender whose main asset is his shot. This year he has scored 12 goals in 37 youth matches and has also dressed for 10 SHL matches.
Here’s what Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects, who had Pettersson in 45th place, said about Pettersson’s game:
Announcement – Continue reading below
A two-way defense that provides good physical appearance, a smart stick and a more valued skating. He won 17 SHL competitions and came out offensively in the J20 playoffs.
“We’re sitting here and we can see the Canucks are picking up soon,” Pettersson agent Joakim Persson told Rick Dhaliwal. “This is Elias’ favorite team, it’s a dream come true for him. You can’t believe Vancouver selected him, he’s very excited.
In our last mail bag on Monday, we talked about the Canucks ’potential to draft this Elias Pettersson, but we definitely didn’t think it would go into the third round.
Here is what we wrote:
Born in Västerås, Sweden, this Elias Pettersson is a 17-year-old left-back who currently plays for Örebro in the SHL. He spent the start of the season bouncing in the J20 and J18 leagues, but played well enough to fit in some SHL games.
Pettersson is not expected to enter the top 60 and could fall even in the fifth round according to some scouts.
“There’s not much of an advantage, but it could play a role in hyperspecialized lower defensive mating,” an explorer told CanucksArmy.
Clearly the Canucks believe in this kid, and we’ll soon have a more detailed explanation of what they like about this player.
Announcement – Continue reading below
To wrap your mind a little more, we are pleased to inform you that Elias Pettersson has just said that his favorite player is Elias Pettersson.
It worked pretty well for the Canucks the last time the public consensus determined that they got to draft a player named Elias Pettersson.
Here is Faber’s complete writing about Elias Pettersson from February:
The Vancouver Canucks can write another Elias Pettersson: Scouting with Faber # 4
Yesterday, the Canucks selected Jonathan Lekkerimäki in 15th overall. You can read our full article on it here.