Canucks: Predicting which NHL awards Pettersson will win
Personal awards and nominations
Calder Trophy: 1 win
Yes, we already know he won the Calder, but it’s worth mentioning for the sake of this article. In a single rookie season, Pettersson became the face of Swedish hockey. 66 points (28 goals, 38 assists) in 71 games was enough to pass Pavel Bure for the Canucks rookie scoring record and capture the Calder Memorial Trophy. The win was the perfect way to cap off his introduction to the league and it was the organization’s first rookie award since the Russian Rocket did it back in 1991-92.
Art Ross Trophy: 1 win
One of the most difficult individual awards to win in all of sports has to be the Art Ross Trophy. Awarded to the player who leads the entire NHL in points at the end of the season, it is never an easy victory. In recent years, its become McDavid’s trophy to lose, and being up against him in the same division won’t make it any easier for Petey.
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Pettersson is the Canucks best player right now, but he’s still a ways away from penetrating the top 10 in scoring across the league. As Pettersson reaches his prime years, his early numbers indicate that he will be a natural top-five center in the league. It’s just a matter of when that will happen. My prediction is that Pettersson will peak around the age of 24 and will have a three-four year window of opportunity. Somewhere between 2023 and 2026, Pettersson will capture the NHL scoring title.
Hart Memorial Trophy: 1 win, 2 nominations
The Hart Memorial Trophy is next in line in terms of difficulty to win. It’s awarded to the league’s Most Valuable Player, but the player winning the award doesn’t necessarily have to finish on top of the league standings. Still, it’s awarded to only the league’s most elite players.
Stacking up the early numbers of Pettersson’s career to award winners like Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, and it appears his value could prove worthy down the stretch. He’s already proven capable of being a franchise face, maybe next he can prove to be the face of the entire league.
Jot him down for two nominations and for him to have his name etched in the Hart trophy just once. That’s not a knock on Pettersson’s skill by any means. It’s just a realization of how challenging winning this award truly is.