Elias Pettersson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Elias Pettersson
Pettersson in 2019
Born	(1998-11-12) 12 November 1998 (age 26) Sundsvall, Sweden
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb)
Position	Centre
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Vancouver Canucks Växjö Lakers
National team	Sweden
NHL Draft	5th overall, 2017 Vancouver Canucks
Playing career	2015–present

Elias Pettersson (born 12 November 1998) is a professional ice hockey player from Sweden. He plays as a forward and is an alternate captain for the Vancouver Canucks in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Canucks picked him fifth overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

Elias was born in Sundsvall, Sweden, but he grew up in a town called Ånge. He had an amazing season in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) in 2017–18. He helped his team, the Växjö Lakers, win the Le Mat Trophy. After this, he joined the Canucks for the 2018–19 season. In 2019, he won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the best rookie in the NHL. He was only the second Canucks player to win this award, after Pavel Bure in 1992.

Growing Up in Sweden

Elias Pettersson was born on 12 November 1998, in Sundsvall, Sweden. His parents are Irene Jonsson and Torbjörn Pettersson. Elias has an older brother named Emil, who is also a hockey player. Elias started playing hockey when he was just three years old. He and Emil played for their local youth team, Ånge IK.

Ånge is a small town with few hockey teams. Elias's dad was a Zamboni driver at the local rink. This meant Elias had lots of chances to practice on the ice. He also played soccer until he was 13. Then, he decided to focus only on hockey.

When Elias was 13, in 2011, his two best friends, Valerik and Davit Danielyan, had to leave Sweden. Elias and his friends spoke to local news to support the Danielyan family. His friends were allowed to return to Sweden in 2012. Elias talked about this experience in interviews later on.

In 2013–2014, when he was in eighth grade, Elias started playing for Timrå IK's U15 team. Ånge did not have a junior team. For his first two seasons with Timrå, Elias lived in Ånge. He traveled about 100 kilometers (62 miles) to practice several times a week. Later, he moved closer to Timrå to make it easier.

His Hockey Journey

Playing for Timrå IK (2015–2017)

Elias Pettersson started his professional hockey career in the 2015–16 season. He played for Timrå IK in HockeyAllsvenskan, which is Sweden's second-highest league. His first game was delayed because of a knee injury. It was a bit unusual for such a talented player to join Timrå. Most top young players go to teams in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

In his second season, Elias was the second-highest scorer on his team. He had 41 points in 43 games. Timrå IK could not move up to the top league. So, on 6 April 2017, Elias signed a three-year contract with the Växjö Lakers. They play in the SHL, Sweden's top league.

Getting Drafted by the NHL in 2017

Pettersson was picked by the Canucks at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

The NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked Elias Pettersson as the second-best European skater. This was for the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. On 23 June 2017, the Vancouver Canucks picked him fifth overall. He was the first Swedish player chosen in that draft. He joined his former teammate, Jonathan Dahlén, who was also a Canucks prospect. Many thought the Canucks picked Elias because he played so well with Dahlén. They were a great team on the top line for Timrå IK. They even scored on their very first shift together in Sweden!

Dominating the SHL with Växjö Lakers (2017–2018)

Even though he was still a junior player, Elias was amazing in his first SHL season (2017–18). He played 44 games and led the league in points with 56. He also had the best plus/minus rating (+27). He scored 24 goals, which was the second-highest in the league.

In the second-to-last game of the season, Elias got four points. This brought his total to 55 points. In the very last game, he set a new record! He scored 56 points, which was the most ever by a junior player in a single SHL season. The old record was set by Kent Nilsson in 1975–76.

Elias continued to shine in the playoffs. He led in goals, points, and plus/minus. He scored 10 goals, 19 points, and had a +17 rating in 13 games. He scored four game-winning goals. He helped the Växjö Lakers win their second Le Mat Trophy. Overall, in the regular season and playoffs, Elias had 34 goals and 41 assists. That's a total of 75 points in 57 games!

In April 2018, Elias won the Stefan Liv Memorial Trophy. This award is for the SHL playoffs' Most Valuable Player (MVP). All 14 judges voted for him, which was a first for the award. At the SHL Awards, Elias was named Rookie of the Year and Forward of the Year. While playing in the SHL, he got some cool nicknames, like "Alien," which also became popular in Vancouver.

Joining the Vancouver Canucks (2018–present)

On 25 May 2018, Elias signed a three-year contract with the Canucks. He made his NHL debut on 3 October 2018, against the Calgary Flames. Elias scored his first NHL goal against goalie Mike Smith. He also got an assist, helping the Canucks win 5–2.

On 13 October 2018, Elias got a head injury during a game against the Florida Panthers. Panthers player Mike Matheson hit him. Matheson was suspended for two games and fined. Elias missed six games but returned on 27 October. On 1 November, he was named the NHL's Rookie of the Month for October. He also became the Second Star of the Week a few days later. In December, he was named First Star of the Week. He had 17 points in 14 games that month, so he was again named Rookie of the Month.

On 2 January 2019, Elias was chosen for his first NHL All-Star Game. He was the only Canucks player picked that year. Later that night, he scored his first NHL hat trick in a 4–3 win against the Ottawa Senators. He scored in the second and third periods, then got the game-winning goal in overtime.

Elias got a knee injury the next night. He missed some games but returned on 21 January 2019. In that game, he scored a goal and had an assist. On 18 March, Elias got an assist that gave him 61 points. This broke the Canucks' rookie points record, which was held by Pavel Bure and Ivan Hlinka. In his first season, Elias scored 28 goals and 38 assists, for a total of 66 points in 71 games. After the season, he won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the best rookie in the NHL.

In the 2019–20 season, Elias played very well with Brock Boeser and J. T. Miller. On 4 November 2019, he was named the NHL's First Star of the Week. He had 9 points in four games. On 30 December 2019, Elias was chosen for his second NHL All-Star Game. His teammates Jacob Markstrom and Quinn Hughes also joined him. At the Hardest Shot Competition, Elias had a 102.4 mph slap shot. This was the second-highest speed by a forward in the competition's history at that time.

The 2019–20 season was cut short in March 2020. When the season started again in August 2020, Elias scored 7 goals and 11 assists. He had 18 points in 17 playoff games. The Canucks won their first playoff series since 2011. They made it to Game 7 of the second round before losing. Elias's 18 points were tied for the team lead. It was also the eighth-highest scoring playoffs in Canucks history.

The 2020–21 season started slowly for Elias. But he soon found his game, getting 19 points in his next 18 games. Sadly, he got a serious upper-body injury on 2 March. This kept him out for the rest of the season.

On 1 October 2021, Elias signed a new three-year contract with the Canucks. On 22 December, he had his fourth five-point game in the NHL. This meant he passed Alexander Mogilny for the most five-point games in Canucks history. Elias finished the 2021–22 season with a career-high 32 goals and 68 points in 80 games.

In the 2022–23 season, Elias had his best year yet! He scored 39 goals, 63 assists, and a total of 102 points in 80 games. On 2 March 2024, Elias signed a big eight-year contract extension with the Canucks.

Playing for Sweden

Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing  Sweden
World Championships
Gold	2018 Denmark
World Junior Championships
Silver	2018 Buffalo

Elias Pettersson has played for Sweden in international tournaments. He won a silver medal at the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. Even though he only played five games because of a broken thumb, he won a gold medal with Team Sweden at the 2018 IIHF World Championship.

On 9 May 2019, Elias was chosen to play for Sweden again. This was for the 2019 World Championships in Slovakia.

Personal Life

On 7 August 2019, Elias Pettersson was featured on the cover of the Swedish version of the video game NHL 20 by EA Sports. When it's not hockey season, Elias lives in Stockholm, Sweden.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2015	Sweden	IH18			5	0	0	0	0
2016	Sweden	U18			7	1	7	8	4
2017	Sweden	WJC	4th		6	0	1	1	0
2018	Sweden	WJC			7	5	2	7	0
2018	Sweden	WC			5	1	2	3	0
2019	Sweden	WC	5th		8	3	7	10	2
Junior totals					25	6	10	16	4
Senior totals					13	4	9	13	2

Awards and Honours