Vancouver Canucks top prospects of week 11: 2018 World Juniors Preview
By David Joun
RW Elias Pettersson, Team Sweden
After being snubbed from NHL.com’s World Junior Championships feature article, Elias Pettersson has much to prove. After not faring so well at last year’s WJC tournament, Pettersson is being highlighted by many as one of the most skilled forwards at the tournament, if not the most skilled.
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SHL.se had this English feature on Pettersson a couple of days ago. It’s worth a read as Pettersson also mentions Brock Boeser and Jake Virtanen, as well as his friend Jonathan Dahlen.
Pettersson did not have a point in his game against Team USA in pre-tournament action, but he is expected to be an offensive force for the star-studded Swedish squad.
With Pettersson away and leaving behind a 1.35 points-per-game average, the SHL has a new scoring leader, Joakim Lindstrom, the 34-year-old forward who has one more point than Pettersson having played two more games. Pettersson’s Vajxo Lakers have struggled without him, with no regulation wins in two games.
Pettersson won’t be getting any leadership roles for the Swedes though, as Lias Andersson has been named captain with Alex Nylander and Erik Brannstrom as assistants alongside Jacob Moverare.
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Rasmus Dahlin the one to watch on Team Sweden
Just about how good is this projected first-overall pick in the upcoming draft? In case you haven’t had the chance to see his highlights yet, make sure to check him out at the World Juniors this time. He is one of the top reasons many see Team Sweden potentially winning the gold this year.