Elias Pettersson is starting to force the Canucks to take notice, and so are the guys skating next to him.
The Vancouver defenceman - the one who shares a name with one of the team’s biggest stars - has carved out his own identity early in the 2026-27 season. Whether people call him “Junior,” “D-Petey,” or even “ Ser Duncan the Tall ,” he’s giving opponents plenty of reason to remember him, usually after he’s driven them into the boards.
After beginning the season on the third pairing with Luke Schenn and occasionally lining up with fellow young Swedish blueliner Tom Willander, Pettersson has since moved up to the top pair with Filip Hronek during the Canucks’ recent road trip. Head coach Manny Malhotra said the promotion was earned.
“He does a really good job of understanding the player that he is and what we expect from him, and he’s executing on those things consistently,” said Malhotra. “That’s where that confidence is coming from, his ability to just do it every night.”
That confidence has shown up in a game built first on edge and physicality. Schenn, who only returned to the club this season and hadn’t watched Pettersson develop up close, said the young defender has been the most eye-opening player he’s encountered.
“He’s been the most impressive guy that I didn’t really know much about coming into the year,” said Schenn. “He’s extremely competitive, plays super hard in front of the net and in the corners, and just wants to compete and be hard on guys.”
Hronek sees a player who used the offseason to clear his head after some rough patches in his sophomore season.
“I think his mind relaxed over the summer,” said Hronek. “He got a good reset, worked on his game, and it’s translating on the ice right now.
Sometimes, even if you don’t want it to, it gets to you when it’s not going your way. I think the summer was good for him in that way, that he could put it in the past.”
Willander, meanwhile, focused on the finer points that make Pettersson such an easy partner to play with.
“He puts a lot of effort into the small things, the details: being close to guys, ending plays quick, being good support for you,” said Willander. “He’s good at having tight gaps in the neutral zone that set you up for good breakouts, so it’s very nice to play with him.”
That clean execution has helped Pettersson handle tougher defensive assignments without getting bogged down. He’s the only Canuck with a corsi above 50 per cent, a sign that Vancouver has controlled more shot attempts than its opponent while he’s on the ice at 5-on-5. And he’s done it despite spending far more time starting in his own end, with 60 defensive-zone faceoffs at 5-on-5 compared with just 25 in the offensive zone.
The biggest surprise, though, has been what Pettersson has added in the other end.
He was never known for finishing plays as a scorer - he had one goal in 64 SHL games, one goal in 49 AHL games, and three goals in 70 NHL games last season. This year, he already has three goals, and they’ve come in a flash: a blue-line activation finished off with a deke to the backhand, a shorthanded rush capped by a hard wrist shot, and a smart snap shot in the slot against the grain on a moving goalie.
Schenn admitted that kind of offensive jump caught him off guard.
“No, I didn’t anticipate it being as much as it is - I’d be lying if I said that,” said Schenn. “With his skating ability and being able to see the ice, you’d think he’d grow into that, but he definitely got out of the gates really solid offensively.”
His newer and older partners, though, aren’t nearly as shocked.
“I’m not surprised at all,” said Willander. “He’s got a good spidey-sense of when to jump in. I feel like you can tell with the goals he’s scored that he’s got a good sense for that.”
“And you can tell he loves to do it; sometimes he gets a bit too excited jumping into it,” he added with a laugh. “No, no, it’s fun to watch.”
Hronek took it a step further when asked whether he already knew that side of Pettersson’s game was there.
“Yeah, I did,” said Hronek. “Did you?
Maybe you should watch closer. He has it in him.”
For Schenn, the full package is starting to stand out now: size, skating, puck skill, and a willingness to jump into the play when the moment is there.
“He’s been very impressive for me, and he’s going to be a big-minute guy for a long time in this league. He’s only going to get better, and he’s definitely been a really, really bright spot for us.”
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