The Vancouver Canucks couldn't have hoped for a better debut for their new first-round draft choice than the show Elias Pettersson put on in front of about 5,000 season-ticket holders at Thursday night's "Summer Showdown" at Rogers Arena.
Pettersson scored two terrific goals in the main game and added another dazzler in the shootout to win the top style points on the night as his Team White beat Team Blue by a score of 5-3.
"He wowed me a few times there," chuckled Brock Boeser about Pettersson after the game. "My jaw just dropped with some of those moves."
"I just play with instinct," said Pettersson about his on-ice strategy. "What comes to my mind first, I go with that.
"If you think too much on the ice, you lose the puck and you make it hard for yourself. I always try to have quick decisions on the ice."
The first period was played 5-on-5. After just a five-minute intermission, they went to a 4-on-4 second period, then a full 15-minute intermission was followed by a 3-on-3 third period.
"I like 3-on-3 but that's the hardest on the body—it's so exhausting to play that," said Pettersson before adding, "I just like to be on the ice."
Team White was coached by Manny Malhotra and Doug Jarvis, who did some line juggling right off the hop. Boeser started with the Swedes Pettersson and Jonathan Dahlen, but was soon moved to a second unit with big centre Zack MacEwen. The pair combined for a nice goal to make the game 4-2 during the 3-on-3 third period.
"I worked out with him here earlier this summer and skated with him then," said Boeser. "I kind of knew the type of player he was. "We've gotten along well and we hang out a lot, so I think that chemistry was there from just hanging around him. It's kind of fun playing with him."
Signed as a free agent out of the QMJHL in March, the 6'4" centre could be a player to watch going forward. He'll probably start the season in Utica.
The standout on Team Blue was Adam Gaudette, the fifth-round pick from 2015 who excelled with Northeastern in the NCAA this past season.
"I've always thought he was a tremendous player," said Boeser. "Last year, I think he really took a huge step. I can't imagine what he's gonna be like this year—I think he's gonna be one of the most dangerous players in college hockey. He's really developed, he's really good."
Gaudette and Griffen Molino were tasked with matching up against Pettersson's line, and it was a pretty good battle. "He (Pettersson) is definitely a higher pick than me, but I definitely wanted to show that I can compete at the level he’s competing at because we’re battling for the same spot," Gaudette told
Ben Kuzma of
The Province after the game.
"I wanted to show everybody that I can play at the same pace that he can."
Point taken. Like Pettersson, Gaudette also scored twice—playing an especially strong third period at 3-on-3.
He and Pettersson got into it physically a little bit, too.
"We don't have nothing against each other—we are both competitive guys," said Pettersson. "It's a part of the game—it's intense. Everybody here competes to show the best of them. He had a good game."
I had also hoped to get a look at the Canucks other college standout, Will Lockwood, but he didn't play.
We'll have to wait and see whether he's ready for the Team USA World Junior summer camp that takes place at the end of this month.
All told, Thursday night's event was really good fun. The Canucks went all-out in providing an atmosphere that was pretty close to a regular in-season game with the national anthem, the usual music, announcements and goal horn, between-periods interviews by Joey Kenward and contests hosted by Hannah Bernard. Another nice touch was covering the rink boards with the names of all the season-ticket holders
There was also a long lineup of VIPs waiting downstairs to meet the players after the game.
Best of all, there was a real sense of optimism surrounding the prospect group—a feeling that, for the first time in a long time, there's some real potential in this bunch.
Today, the final event of Development Camp was a climb up the Grouse Grind.
When told that the Sedins' time on the Grind is around 35 minutes, Pettersson wasn't sure whether to make that his goal. "I'm not gonna aim for it...yeah i'm gonna aim for it."
Then he got deferential again—for a second. "I'm not gonna beat them. But I will do my best and I will see what the result is."
Players assigned to groups of five when they do the Grind, with the team's time determined by the slowest player in each group. We'll have to pay close attention if we want to find out how Pettersson did.
Between the draft and development camp, Pettersson spent a week and a half here in Vancouver, working out and getting to know the team staff. He was really excited about having his first opportunity to play on the ice at Rogers Arena, and proud to have had a good game.
Boeser's sticking around for another week after camp concludes before he heads back to Minnesota.
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