Welcome Matt: Pettersson showing leadership qualities with aggressive and engaged start
Let’s not lose sight of Elias Pettersson’s game in a controversy-filled 5-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on opening night.
In a word: aggressive.
And you have to love that from the Canucks centreman as he starts the 2022-23 NHL campaign.
Because at the start of last year, Pettersson was anything but. Too passive. Too periphery. Too many invisible nights.
We now know that getting over that wrist injury and a lack of preseason and training camp hurt him, but it’s a big reason why the Canucks sucked through 25 games and buried their postseason chances early.
Last night, early in the first period, he generates that offensive-zone turnover and scores on the second chance tuck-in from the net side. That’s the best of Petey: a strong defensive play followed by a creative offensive play.
Absolutely clinical from Elias Pettersson to open the flood gates for the #Canucks. pic.twitter.com/7DgGWYt2qU
— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) October 13, 2022
Then that first power play where he literally tries to force the puck through Oilers goalie Jack Campbell. Not to steal Tony Gallagher’s line here, but did he think Campbell a hologram?
Then you saw his up-in-arms reaction on the bench when Kyle Burroughs was done dirty by Darnell Nurse? Thoroughly engaged.
Good lord Elias Pettersson is absolutely DIALED in this season. He has those "went beyond the walls, became a leader" vibes right now. pic.twitter.com/JmCIEDNc7P
— Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) October 13, 2022
We’ve talked over the last month about how Petey now seems like a grown veteran not the young player we’ve considered him in the past. Many are predicting a breakout this year at age 23 (he turns 24 next month), and he provided supporting evidence on opening night.
I think one thing we’ll monitor this season is the internal competition within the Canucks to be the man.
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Pettersson, J.T. Miller, Bo Horvat, and Quinn Hughes all have cases, and the dream scenario is that they push each other to be better and one-up their teammate. Much like that fiercely competitive-with-each-other dynamic that Henrik and Daniel Sedin had.
And if someone wants to tell me that maybe Petey is a slight bit peeved with not getting a letter, and that he’s going to audition for that leadership role much like Horvat the year before he was named captain, then that works, too.
But one game in, and so far so good for No. 40.