NASHVILLE — Before his 20th birthday, Elias Pettersson had won a world championship with Sweden and was the Swedish Hockey League playoff MVP after driving the Vaxjo Lakers to the 2018 title.
A fifth-overall draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks, Pettersson won the 2019 Calder Trophy as the National Hockey League’s top rookie, and in 2020, at age 21, performed admirably in the antiseptic playoff bubble in Edmonton where he amassed 18 points in 17 games without fans.
In March, the brilliant start to Pettersson’s NHL career was rewarded with an eight-year, $92.8-million-US contract extension with the Canucks that will make the centre one of the highest-paid hockey players in the world.
And none of this adequately prepared him for the soaring emotions and searing intensity of full-throttle Stanley Cup Playoffs as Vancouver split a pair of games this week at Rogers Arena against the Nashville Predators.
Now 25 years old and already with 407 regular-season games in the NHL, it was easy to mistake Pettersson for a finished product or at least an experienced veteran. And then the first Stanley Cup tournament games in Vancouver since 2015 came along, and Pettersson was quiet in the Canucks’ 4-2 victory on Sunday and awful in the Predators’ 4-1 win Tuesday.
Game 3 is here Friday.
“I’ve been wanting to do too much instead of just staying (with) and playing my game,” Pettersson told Sportsnet in a candid one-on-one interview after Thursday’s practice in Nashville. “Of course, play hard and use the adrenaline, but I’ve definitely been trying to do too much instead of playing my game and letting the game come to you.
“I thought I was going to score my first or second shift the first game, and it was like, ‘Oh my god, I almost scored.’ (Nashville goalie Juuse) Saros made a good save with his toe. I just want it so bad. I’m probably being too honest. But, I mean, I’m not going to shy away from anything. I haven’t been that good these first two games, but. . . I can only look forward.”
The Canucks have been outshot 12-4 and outscored 3-0 with Pettersson on the ice at five-on-five. His expected-goals-for of 32.5 per cent puts him ahead of only linemate Ilya Mikheyev, and about 40 points below the possession-quality metric of other top Vancouver forwards Brock Boeser, J.T. Miller, Elias Lindholm and Conor Garland.
Pettersson said these first two games were unlike anything he has experienced.
“Yeah, it is,” he said. “It’s probably my first real playoff with all this atmosphere. I’ve just been so fired up. But maybe I’ve come away a little bit from what makes me good. I mean, adrenaline is good. . . but with adrenaline maybe I try to play too hard or make things too hard instead of just playing the game and letting the game come to you.”
Widely regarded as one of the NHL’s smartest players as well as one of its best, Pettersson conceded he may be thinking too much.
Asked Thursday if his miss of a semi-open net from 25 feet that would have tied Game 2 1-1 was evidence of his over-thinking, Pettersson instead cited his second-period turnover that led to Colton Sissons’ goal that made it 3-0 for Nashville.
With the puck at the far left of his blue line, instead of simply advancing it up the wing, Pettersson tried to feather a cross-ice pass that was intercepted by Jason Zucker. In transition, Pettersson compounded his turnover by allowing Sissons to reach through him to score from Anthony Beauvillier’s rebound.
Pettersson fell to his knees after missing the open net with three seconds remaining in the first period. His mistake eight minutes into the second period brought the Canucks to their knees.
“I mean, of course, I want to score that one,” Pettersson explained. “But mostly what stayed on my mind was my turnover on their third goal. Like, right away when I did it, I’m thinking ‘What am I doing?’”
“Obviously, he didn’t have a good game,” coach Rick Tocchet said Thursday. “I think this is adversity. Like I said the other day: ‘Get up, get your chest up and face it,’ which he did. I love the fact that he faced the media after the game; I thought it was really smart that he did that and he didn’t hide. Even today, he had a really good practice. He was smiling. That’s what I need from Petey. He should try to embrace all this and have fun with it.
“He knows he has to play better. And the one thing with him, especially after last game. . . his ears are open. He’s listening to us now. I’m not saying he wasn’t (listening) before. But, you know, he has our attention.”
Intelligent and introspective, well aware of his talents and any deficiencies in his game, Pettersson hasn’t needed all that much help in the NHL until now.
“It’s hard,” Miller said. “You have to go through this and learn. It’s part of the evolution (for players). When Petey’s on his game, he’s a top player in the league. Everybody knows that. Speaking just as a guy who has been there on a smaller scale — he has a lot more talent — I just think that you need to learn what it takes. You’ve got to focus on little victories because it’s hard to accomplish being the best every game because (opponents are) all on top of their game. This is unreal experience for him and a ton of other players on our team.”
Pettersson was one of nine Canucks who had never skated in a genuine Stanley Cup playoff game until Sunday.
Pettersson practised again Thursday with Mikheyev and Nils Hoglander. Neither winger has done much to help Pettersson but, really, the onus for driving play rests with the centre whose cap hit next season will be $11.6 million.
“Sure, I’ve heard about it,” Pettersson said. “But at the end of the day, (the size of the contract) doesn’t matter how I should play. Maybe the emotion has gotten to me a little bit. But I like to think, especially after the last game, I just realize what’s important to think about.
“Nothing good comes with dwelling and living in the past and doubting your abilities. Obviously, I want that last game back, but what can I do?”
All he can do to be better in Game 3.
