[Article] Canucks: For Elias Pettersson, 100 points may be too low a target

[RWJC]

Canucks: For Elias Pettersson, 100 points may be too low a target

 

 

If you want to understand how much stronger Elias Pettersson is coming into the 2023-24 NHL season, just look at his stick flex.

 

The Vancouver Canucks’ star centre has bumped the flex on his Bauer stick to 95, up from the 87 flex he used a season ago.

 

The stiffer the flex, the heavier the shot, but it also means precision is a little more challenging.

 

But in Pettersson’s case, precision has never been an issue. There is every reason to think that he will quickly master a new stick design.

 

He has the innate drive that the best of the best have, the desire to master everything and anything.

 

And it’s his sixth NHL season. He is very aware of how to prepare himself now, of what gaps remain in his game that he can still improve on.

 

“I know what to expect. I know what I wanted to work on. I worked hard this summer,” he said at the beginning of training camp.

 

Pettersson scored 102 points in 80 games last season, the sixth player in Canucks history to hit triple digits.

You know the 24 year old would like to do that again, both because that would be good for his team, but also because that would be great for his wallet.

 

To get back to the century club is a big task, but one that starts with simple details.

 

“I’m getting stronger in the summer,” he said Wednesday after a hard skate with nine veteran teammates who weren’t going to be playing in Wednesday night’s penultimate pre-season game in Abbotsford between the Canucks and Seattle Kraken.

Getting back in the groove with his teammates over the past month has gone well.

 

The season begins in a week’s time and Pettersson admits he is getting a little antsy.

 

“Guys are ready. I think we’ve had a good camp,” he said.

 

The stiffer stick will mean more velocity on his shot, and Pettersson obviously hopes that will lead to even more goals. He scored a career-high 39 goals last season.

 

You know he would like to hit 50.

Remarkably, he only scored six goals on the power play last season, the second-lowest total of his career, beating out only the miserable 2020-21 season — he scored just four times on the man advantage before a wrist injury ended his season at the halfway mark.

 

In other words, if last season’s 100 points is the bar he wants to clear, is it possible that with these new stick tweaks, his added strength and perhaps some adjustments on the power play, 100 points might be a low target for this season?

 

Pettersson says he never sets targets for himself, but head coach Rick Tocchet certainly has some in mind.

He knows his power play must become a more consistent weapon. He has looked at the talent available to his team’s power play, one that traditionally has seen Pettersson shooting from the right flank, and the head coach has said he has looked across the Rockies for inspiration.

Look at Edmonton’s power play, he has said more than once. It’s not just that they have two of the best players in the world in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, it’s also that they have lots of movement in their power play setup.

 

There’s a lesson there, he believes.

“They got the unreal power play. I know McDavid is all-world, but he’s everywhere, and so is Draisaitl. We have some really good hockey players that can play other (power play) positions, I think,” he said after Saturday’s 5-2 exhibition win versus the Edmonton Oilers.

 

In Pettersson’s case, he says he is not beholden to shooting from any particular place.

 

“I like think I can score from all positions out there,” he said in training camp. “But it comes down to us at the end of the day. We want to score whenever we get a power play. And if that’s me, being net-front or half wall, etc., we’ll have to look into it.”

Hitting 100 points, by the way, would get Pettersson into the Canucks’ all-time top-10 in scoring, passing Bo Horvat, who ended his Canucks tenure with 420 points in 621 career games.

 

Pettersson has 323 points in 325 career games and will quickly pass a trio of big names from Canucks history: he starts the season two points back of Mattias Öhlund, five points back of Cliff Ronning, and 19 points behind Patrik Sundström.

Once the season starts, he really tries not to get too far ahead of himself.

“I don’t think too much ahead. I really just go day by day and try to be the best player I can be every game. That’s my mindset,” he said.

“Have confidence in myself. Have confidence in my teammates.”

And look to beat the guy across from him, every time he’s on the ice.

“Yeah, that’s it,” he said with a grin.

 

OUT OF SICK BAY — Pettersson said whatever had been ailing him for the last couple days, keeping him out of practice, was behind him. “No details for the media,” he quipped.

 

 

pjohnston@postmedia.com

twitter.com/risingaction

 

https://apple.news/AhFuDur8nTKC621w_w9eZ9g

[gwarrior]

I  would LOVE to see him blow last year's totals out of the water.

[Coconuts]

113

[RWJC]

106

[VegasCanuck]

I think he's got the ability to do 120, time will tell....he's just coming into his prime.

[Canuck Surfer]

56 Goals, next year Pavs record?

 

Highest scoring sgl season Selke winner in history...

[Elias Pettersson]

120 points.  The additional 18 points will come on the power play.

 

Last year, McDavid had 75 points 5v5.  Petey had 68.  The difference was the power play.  McDavid had 71 points on the PP, Petey only had 25.

 

If Petey can get 40-45 points on the PP then he is easily a 120 point player...

[RWJC]

3 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

120 points.  The additional 18 points will come on the power play.

 

Last year, McDavid had 75 points 5v5.  Petey had 68.  The difference was the power play.  McDavid had 71 points on the PP, Petey only had 25.

 

If Petey can get 40-45 points on the PP then he is easily a 120 point player...

[Steamer4GM]

I'd love to see it but pretty sure a system with heavier emphasis on defensive play isn't likely to be conducive to any record setting totals. With any luck, all the focus on defensive structure and playing the right way will really sink in over the first half n then morph into something that works well at both ends by the midway point

[Mrwipeout]

120+

[IBatch]

EP has an Art Ross trophy in him.    Not sure what EDM will do once Draisaitl and McDavid's contracts are up.   Separating those two will for sure bring them down to Earth some.    If he starts scoring on the PP,  50 goals seemed reasonable.    Playing the other side of the puck could affect his totals too.   For sure can see a run of 100 plus point seasons.   He's better then the Sedins were so far at the same age.   Only Bure and Mogilny could challenge that.   So pretty great company. 

Edited October 5, 2023 by IBatch

[MikeyD]

A stiffer flex doesn't equal a harder shot otherwise they'd use wood lol. It depends on how you utilize your stick and the types of shots you take.

 

I'm not worried about Petey but I'm worried about the systems we've implemented this preseason. I think Petey will take the next step but if he's forced to play less transitionally then that will hurt his point totals.

 

I'm praying the team just sucked this preseason and it wasn't a systems thing lol. 

[RolexSub]

I predict he will get 112 pts this coming season

[Barn Burner]

On 10/4/2023 at 10:58 PM, Steamer4GM said:

I'd love to see it but pretty sure a system with heavier emphasis on defensive play isn't likely to be conducive to any record setting totals. With any luck, all the focus on defensive structure and playing the right way will really sink in over the first half n then morph into something that works well at both ends by the midway point

This is actually a really good point. 

 

Petey's still a phenomenal player, but because of the emphasis being on defense, that will definitely come into play. 

 

Regardless, he's still one of the top 10 players in the league and could produce 120, or more points. 

 

Let the games begin! 

[Devron]

Hard to say with Tocchets system. Just let Petey be Petey 

[Penskih]

Didn't Pettersson put up around 48pts in 36 or so games under Tocchet? Small sample, but thats about 109 points in a full season! I quickly added it on my phone, so I'm not sure how accurate I was. Either way, I expect a big season 40+ goals 100+ points

[PhillipBlunt]

On 10/4/2023 at 6:45 PM, RWJC said:

Canucks: For Elias Pettersson, 100 points may be too low a target

 

 

If you want to understand how much stronger Elias Pettersson is coming into the 2023-24 NHL season, just look at his stick flex.

 

The Vancouver Canucks’ star centre has bumped the flex on his Bauer stick to 95, up from the 87 flex he used a season ago.

 

The stiffer the flex, the heavier the shot, but it also means precision is a little more challenging.

 

But in Pettersson’s case, precision has never been an issue. There is every reason to think that he will quickly master a new stick design.

 

He has the innate drive that the best of the best have, the desire to master everything and anything.

 

And it’s his sixth NHL season. He is very aware of how to prepare himself now, of what gaps remain in his game that he can still improve on.

 

“I know what to expect. I know what I wanted to work on. I worked hard this summer,” he said at the beginning of training camp.

 

Pettersson scored 102 points in 80 games last season, the sixth player in Canucks history to hit triple digits.

You know the 24 year old would like to do that again, both because that would be good for his team, but also because that would be great for his wallet.

 

To get back to the century club is a big task, but one that starts with simple details.

 

“I’m getting stronger in the summer,” he said Wednesday after a hard skate with nine veteran teammates who weren’t going to be playing in Wednesday night’s penultimate pre-season game in Abbotsford between the Canucks and Seattle Kraken.

Getting back in the groove with his teammates over the past month has gone well.

 

The season begins in a week’s time and Pettersson admits he is getting a little antsy.

 

“Guys are ready. I think we’ve had a good camp,” he said.

 

The stiffer stick will mean more velocity on his shot, and Pettersson obviously hopes that will lead to even more goals. He scored a career-high 39 goals last season.

 

You know he would like to hit 50.

Remarkably, he only scored six goals on the power play last season, the second-lowest total of his career, beating out only the miserable 2020-21 season — he scored just four times on the man advantage before a wrist injury ended his season at the halfway mark.

 

In other words, if last season’s 100 points is the bar he wants to clear, is it possible that with these new stick tweaks, his added strength and perhaps some adjustments on the power play, 100 points might be a low target for this season?

 

Pettersson says he never sets targets for himself, but head coach Rick Tocchet certainly has some in mind.

He knows his power play must become a more consistent weapon. He has looked at the talent available to his team’s power play, one that traditionally has seen Pettersson shooting from the right flank, and the head coach has said he has looked across the Rockies for inspiration.

Look at Edmonton’s power play, he has said more than once. It’s not just that they have two of the best players in the world in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, it’s also that they have lots of movement in their power play setup.

 

There’s a lesson there, he believes.

“They got the unreal power play. I know McDavid is all-world, but he’s everywhere, and so is Draisaitl. We have some really good hockey players that can play other (power play) positions, I think,” he said after Saturday’s 5-2 exhibition win versus the Edmonton Oilers.

 

In Pettersson’s case, he says he is not beholden to shooting from any particular place.

 

“I like think I can score from all positions out there,” he said in training camp. “But it comes down to us at the end of the day. We want to score whenever we get a power play. And if that’s me, being net-front or half wall, etc., we’ll have to look into it.”

Hitting 100 points, by the way, would get Pettersson into the Canucks’ all-time top-10 in scoring, passing Bo Horvat, who ended his Canucks tenure with 420 points in 621 career games.

 

Pettersson has 323 points in 325 career games and will quickly pass a trio of big names from Canucks history: he starts the season two points back of Mattias Öhlund, five points back of Cliff Ronning, and 19 points behind Patrik Sundström.

Once the season starts, he really tries not to get too far ahead of himself.

“I don’t think too much ahead. I really just go day by day and try to be the best player I can be every game. That’s my mindset,” he said.

“Have confidence in myself. Have confidence in my teammates.”

And look to beat the guy across from him, every time he’s on the ice.

“Yeah, that’s it,” he said with a grin.

 

OUT OF SICK BAY — Pettersson said whatever had been ailing him for the last couple days, keeping him out of practice, was behind him. “No details for the media,” he quipped.

 

 

pjohnston@postmedia.com

twitter.com/risingaction

 

https://apple.news/AhFuDur8nTKC621w_w9eZ9g

No details for the media. Well done, Elisa. Well done. 

[DownUndaCanuck]

I think he'll take a step back but we'll be better as a team, mainly because Mikheyev isn't ready. 95 points, 32 goals. But I see Hughes taking off and hitting 90 points. Miller takes a step back, PDG and Boeser get better, Kuzmenko stays around the same, our bottom 6 score a lot more than last year though.

 

Don't mind that balance to be honest.