Vancouver Canucks: Can Elias Pettersson break Pavel Bure’s scoring record?

Fans have been treated to watching the Vancouver Canucks’ rookie sensation Elias Pettersson make a splash early in his NHL career, but can the young phenom break Pavel Bure’s rookie scoring record?

The day was June 23rd, 2017. Little did we Vancouver Canucks fans know it at the time, but it was the day that would change everything. It was the day the franchise drafted generational talent in Elias Pettersson.

The majority of us went into the draft feeling down on the team’s luck. After finishing just a spot above dead last in the standings, the Canucks dropped three positions on the draft board thanks to the draft lottery and would pick fifth. The masses tabbed us as being the proud owners of Cody Glass or Gabriel Vilardi once draft day was all said and done.

When general manager Jim Benning took the stage in Chicago that day, he threw a curveball at the hockey world and many Canucks fans, as well. “With our first selection, we select from Timra, Elias Pettersson.” Fans on social media went into an uproar. Many wondered who this guy the Canucks had just drafted that was not named Glass or Vilardi.

My personal experience on draft day consisted of confusion and anger. That was until I typed in Pettersson’s name on YouTube. The results left me wide-eyed. The dangling ability Pettersson possesses was the first thing I noticed and I almost instantly began to wonder to myself, did this team just get a steal at the draft?

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We are living in the next chapter of this story. The answer is yes, we did get a steal of a player at the 2017 draft.

Pettersson has changed everything in Vancouver and almost single-handedly given the team and its fan base hope of a playoff berth in just his first season in the National Hockey League. In retrospect, he also could have very easily gone first overall in that draft as well.

Pettersson is a generational talent who has received comparisons to Wayne Gretzky, Pavel Datsyuk and Peter Forsberg.

Some Canuck fans believe he’s the most skilled player the franchise has had since Pavel Bure. This made me wonder whether or not Pettersson could break the Russian Rocket’s rookie goal scoring record.

In his rookie season in the 1991-92 season, Bure netted 34 goals and 26 assists. Since then, no Vancouver rookie has reached the feat. Although Brock Boeser was on pace to break the record, a freak back injury put him out for the final stretch of his rookie season just a year ago. That forced Boeser to settle with 29 goals in his first season.

The Canucks have 27 games left to play this season. Currently sitting at 25 goals, Pettersson is just nine goals away from breaking the record. The longest stretch of games Pettersson has gone this season without tallying a goal is five. He has two goals during the team’s three-game losing skid.

On top of all this, Pettersson is averaging five goals per nine games, so if he continues at this pace, he will break the record and have games in hand to add even more than just 34 goals. If we follow the five per nine formula, he’ll finish with 40 goals. If he could even come close to 40, that would be absolutely incredible. ESPN’s projection has Pettersson finishing his rookie campaign with 37 goals.

Anything can happen in the world of hockey, but the fact of the matter is, we are incredibly lucky to be watching the tale of Pettersson’s career unfold right before our eyes. If he stays healthy, Pettersson could quite easily break Bure’s rookie goal scoring record.