Vancouver Canucks: Elias Pettersson close to breaking multiple records
Vancouver Canucks rookie sensation Elias Pettersson may as well be nicknamed “the record breaker” because he seems to break records everywhere he goes. The young Swede is just three points away from breaking the Canucks’ franchise record for points — currently held by Pavel Bure.
Kent Nilsson. Peter Forsberg. Henrik and Daniel Sedin. Markus Naslund. Those are just a few of the once Swedish Hockey League rookies that Elias Pettersson picked up more points than last season with the Vaxjo Lakers.
“The record breaker” quickly made a habit of excellence in that season — and caught the attention of many — especially the attention of Canucks fans. The hype surrounding Pettersson grew even larger after he was named the Rookie of the Year, Forward of the Year, League MVP, and Playoff MVP. Not bad for a 19-year-old.
On top of that, Pettersson led Vaxjo to their second title in franchise history — and spray painted himself gold in celebration of the championship win. A player who competes hard, comes up big in big moments, and is a playoff performer — what’s not to like?
Currently, Pettersson is extremely close to breaking Pavel Bure‘s rookie points record. Pettersson currently sits at 58 points and is just two points away from tying Bure’s record, at 60. With 13 games remaining, Pettersson should have no problem breaking that record.
Because of that among many other things, it is an exciting time to be a Canucks fan. Who would have thought someone that was originally deemed too small to play in the NHL would be even close to breaking Canucks’ records?
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Pettersson, unfortunately, has struggled to find the back of the net as of late and is still eight goals away from breaking the Canucks rookie record for goals scored — also held by Bure. We shouldn’t write him off just yet for breaking that record, however, because he is beginning to look more and more like the player whose dangerous shot was giving opposing goalies nightmares at the beginning of the season.
Nonetheless, even being this close to breaking the goalscoring record is quite the feat for a playmaker who, again, was supposed to be too small to play in the NHL.
Speaking of playmaking, how about the assist record? The record for most assists in a rookie season for the Canucks is currently held by current Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon — who picked up 42 assists in 78 games played during his rookie campaign.
Pettersson currently sits ten away from the record, with 32 assists. Definitely do not count Pettersson out from breaking this record, either. Pettersson was over a point per game player for the majority of this season — and despite the fact that he’s cooled off as of late — Pettersson could very well pick up ten assists before the final horn of game 82.
Pettersson has actually already broken one impressive Canucks rookie record, and that’s the record held by Bure for most game-winning goals in a rookie season. The record was six, and Pettersson scored his seventh game winner of the season back in February.
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He is a special player, that’s for sure. What record do you think Pettersson will be able to break aside from the points record? Let me know in the comments section below!