Note: answers provided from this interview were originally given in Swedish and translated via Google.
The 2025–26 season will be a big one for Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson. After a lacklustre 2024–25 season in which he scored 15 goals and 30 assists in 64 games, all eyes are on him for a big rebound. Drafted fifth overall by Vancouver in the 2017 NHL Draft, Pettersson’s pick surprised many who believed the team would take players such as Cody Glass or Gabriel Vilardi. As one of six current Canucks who have spent at least five seasons with the organization, Pettersson is only third to Thatcher Demko and Brock Boeser in terms of tenure. At the start of his career, fans heralded him as a hero. After only a single season, it’s looking more and more like they’re beginning to turn on him. Even with the negativity swirling within the fanbase, Pettersson insists that it’s about the highs, not the lows.
“I only see it as positive,” he told Uffe Bodin in an interview originally done in Swedish for HockeySverige. “It’s a city that’s passionate about hockey. It’s hockey in Canada and it doesn’t get any better.”
Negativity can come with Canadian NHL markets, as many have seen the intense fandom of Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers fans during their respective playoff runs. It’s something that can occasionally deter some players or prevent them from re-signing with a team.
“It depends on how you look at it, of course,” Pettersson said. “Sure, you get recognized, but you get recognized because you play ice hockey and you live your childhood dream. I take it with a kick in the heels. I had idols when I grew up so I just try to be as good and happy as I can. It’s not always me every day, but you get recognized because you play hockey so it’s a good problem.”
With the scrutiny that can come from all sorts of off-ice places, guidance from veterans can be essential. Pettersson reflected on the impact of the Swedish veterans in the locker room when he first joined the Canucks. During this interview, Pettersson went out of his way to make sure that former starting goaltender Jacob Markström was mentioned.
“Very important. Partly because they set the standard for me but also because I moved to the other side of the world. It was of course a very big step, but I felt at home thanks to the Swedes on the team.”
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Pettersson and the Canucks haven’t seen Vancouver’s fanbase at its peak quite yet, though they came close after falling one win short of the 2024 Stanley Cup Western Conference Finals. During Pettersson’s only other playoff run, fans were unable to attend games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite not quite hitting the level of the 2011 Stanley Cup run’s crowds, Pettersson was quick to compliment the fans’ postseason energy.
“When we played in the playoffs last year, it was the absolute coolest thing I’ve ever experienced,” he said. “Between games you saw cars driving around with Canucks flags. It’s hard to explain, but it’s incredibly cool.”
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