"They're gonna butcher me": Canucks prospect Pettersson fails Sedin trivia
It wasn’t that long ago that Daniel and Henrik Sedin were the poster boys for the Vancouver Canucks, but don’t tell that to prospect Elias Pettersson.
The 19-year-old Canucks prospect is currently playing for Team Sweden at the 2024 World Junior Championships. As part of a promotion for the team, Pettersson joined some of his Swedish teammates to take a World Juniors quiz from Elite Prospects.
Pettersson was joined by fellow Canucks prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki as well as Buffalo Sabres prospect Noah Östlund and Detroit Red Wings prospect Axel Sandin Pellikka.
Things started rough for Pettersson as he was the only one of the four to get the first question wrong. He thought Sweden had won Gold at the World Juniors three times instead of the correct answer of two.
It took Pettersson until the fifth question to get one right, but the best part came with the last question, which asked about a pair of brothers who helped Sweden capture Gold at the 1981 World Juniors Tournament.
Pettersson answered with the Sedins, who would have been less than a year old when that tournament took place.
“Bro, they didn’t play in 1981,” said Sandin Pellikka before each player burst into laughter.
“Yes they could have,” answered a defensive Pettersson before Sandin Pellikka responded, “They were like three years old.”
It was one of the funnier moments of the quiz as Pettersson’s Swedish teammates tried to convince him that the Sedin Brothers are not nearly as old as he thinks.
“They’re gonna butcher me,” Pettersson finally conceded after being convinced.
The Sedins eventually played for Team Sweden at the World Juniors, but it wasn’t until about 20 years later, in 1999, that they could do it. Considering Pettersson was born in 2004, Canucks fans should be able to give the young Swede a bit of a break this time around!
What Canucks fans can give Pettersson props for is his play in Sweden’s opening game against Latvia. The Swedes cruised to a dominant 6-0 victory where Pettersson, a hulking 6’4″ defenceman, had a few crushing hits. Lekkerimäki also impressed with a pair of goals in the win.
If you go into the corner with Elias Pettersson (D), you're going to have a bad time. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/fWTaCnMSuG
— Daniel Wagner (@passittobulis) December 26, 2023
You can catch both Pettersson and Lekkerimäki back in action on Thursday when Sweden takes on Germany at 10:30 am PT.