Elias Pettersson is making a name for himself.
The Vancouver Canucks defenceman may share a name with one of the Canucks’ biggest stars, but he’s imposing his own identity on the ice early in the 2026-27 season. Call him “Junior,” “D-Petey,” or even “Ser Duncan the Tall” — either way, opposing players have no choice but to learn his name, typically by looking at the back of his jersey after he’s crushed them into the boards.
Pettersson started the season on the third pairing alongside Luke Schenn, while also occasionally playing with his fellow young Swedish defenceman, Tom Willander.
On the Canucks’ recent road trip, however, Pettersson ascended to the top pairing with Filip Hronek — a well-deserved promotion from head coach Manny Malhotra.
“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.”
But what do Pettersson’s own defence partners say about the young defenceman?
“He’s been the most impressive guy”
Schenn, who hasn’t seen Pettersson’s development firsthand as he only returned to the team this season, has been blown away.
“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.”
Pettersson’s physical defensive game is his calling card, but playing defence at the NHL level requires more than just physicality. So much of the game is mental: making good defensive reads, staying calm under pressure, and shaking off moments where things go wrong.
Hronek emphasized that mental element as being key to Pettersson’s offseason preparation, after he experienced some struggles 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.”
“It’s very nice to play with him”
While Schenn emphasized the physicality and Hronek talked about the mental aspect, Willander pointed to Pettersson’s detailed approach to the game.
“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.”
One area where Pettersson’s game has grown is in his puck retrievals and breakouts, where he’s showing far more confidence and moving the puck more quickly, which makes life a lot easier for his defence partners.
“It’s huge. I mean, it’s everything,” said Willander. “Every time you mess up a breakout, you’re now defending for probably 20-30 seconds […] That really adds up, so the more times you can do it properly, it makes the back half of the game a lot easier.”
Pettersson’s ability to kill plays and get the puck moving in the right direction shows up in the underlying numbers. He’s the lone Canuck with a corsi above 50 per cent, meaning the Canucks have had more shot attempts than the opposition when he’s been on the ice at 5-on-5.
That’s in spite of starting far more of his shifts in the defensive zone than in the offensive zone: he’s been on the ice for 60 defensive zone faceoffs at 5-on-5 and just 25 offensive zone faceoffs.
“He’s got a good spidey-sense”
What has caught Canucks fans a little off-guard about Pettersson is the sudden infusion of offence.
That’s not something Pettersson has been known for in his career. He scored just one goal in 64 SHL games and one goal in 49 AHL games. Last season, he chipped in three goals in 70 NHL games.
This season, he already has three goals. And not just any goals — impressive, skilled goals: activating off the blue line to finish off a deke to the backhand, jumping up into a shorthanded rush to beat a goaltender clean with a laser-beam wrist shot, and sneaking into the slot for a clever snap shot against the grain on a moving goaltender.
Elias Pettersson looking like a young Elias Pettersson out there. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/OCg1fZWrHz
— Daniel Wagner (@passittobulis) October 11, 2026
Schenn had to admit he’s been surprised by Pettersson’s early offensive success.
“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.”
Pettersson’s partners who have known him a little bit longer, however, have a different view of things.
“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, when asked if he knew that Pettersson had that offensive upside in his game, gave a cheeky smirk as he answered.
“Yeah, I did,” said Hronek. “Did you? Maybe you should watch closer. He has it in him.”
“He’s going to be a big-minute guy for a long time”
So far this season, Pettersson has been one of the best stories for the Canucks. His teammates have enjoyed seeing him put together the pieces of his game into a cohesive whole just as much as the fans.
“Obviously, he’s got the size, but also the skating ability,” said Schenn. “And he’s pretty good with the puck. He can shoot the puck, and he’s not afraid to jump into holes and create a little offence.
“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.”