Dallas Stars Draft Profile: Timra IK Forward Elias Pettersson
By Tom Dorsa
Up until the NHL Draft on June 23rd, the team at Blackout Dallas will be rolling out previews of the potential Dallas Stars selections. Today, we look at Elias Pettersson.
Name: Elias Pettersson
Position: Center/Left Wing
Shoots: Left-handed
Hometown: Sundsvall, Sweden
Birthdate: November 12th, 1998
Size: 6-foot-1, 162 lbs
Team: Timra IK (Hockeyallsvenskan)
Stats: 19 goals, 21 assists, 40 points in 43 games.
NHL Ceiling: Top-six center
Each and every year at the National Hockey League Entry Draft, there seems to be one player that has Draft experts divided in their assessments of their NHL potential. Often times, these players can possess the most pure, raw talent in the field, but their commitment level and determination are reasons for concern.
We’ve seen a few of those players ourselves here for the Dallas Stars: Brandon Wheat Kings center Scott Glennie in 2009, or Chelyabinsk Traktor forward Valeri Nichushkin in 2013 falls under that category. It’s difficult to fully evaluate their abilities as hockey players this way.
In 2017, NHL general managers might have this issue with Swedish forward Elias Pettersson. No one can deny that his pure offensive skill will make a difference in North American pro hockey, but his enigmatic nature puts up some red flags.
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However, to me, Pettersson is as complete, both mentally and physically, as the best centers in the Draft this season. His hockey IQ is one of his best qualities, not a flaw at all.
The 6’2″, 161-pound lefty enjoyed a breakout year in the Swedish Hockey League’s feeder sanctioning body, Hockeyallsvenskan, netting 19 goals and 21 assists in just 43 games of work as an 18-year-old. Jeff Marek, an analyst from Sportsnet, said about Pettersson: “The cliché ‘200-foot game’ applies to Pettersson, as he’s a lanky centre who excels at distributing the puck and can play defensively.”
The best comparison as far as NHL athletes go for Pettersson, whose brother, Emil, currently is a prospect for the Western Conference champions Nashville Predators, is Columbus Blue Jackets center Alexander Wennberg.
Pettersson, similar to Wennberg, is a sensational playmaker who can play both wing and center, who possesses the wheels to get back defensively on any backcheck and prevent the puck from entering his own goal. Wennberg was, this season, able to grow further into his game for the Blue Jackets, accepting the role of a defensive center with playmaking capabilities.
Timra IK
Wennberg scored 13 goals and 46 assists in this season’s surprising campaign for Columbus, which is essentially the NHL ceiling I would assign to Pettersson, a fellow Swedish countryman. Pettersson will develop into a premier facilitator for whichever National Hockey League team has the privilege of taking him; never a volume shooter, Pettersson could become a routine 40-50 assists-per-year forward with penalty killing skills.
Of course, he still needs to show the commitment and drive elite NHL players need, but as I eluded to, that will not be an issue. His maturity is displayed on every shift, as he can make opposing defenses look absolutely foolish in one end, but also get back and fill shooting and passing lanes, negating scoring chances for the opposition.
To mention Pettersson’s pedigree as a defensive Swedish forward means I should bring up fellow Timra IK product and Detroit Red Wings centerman Henrik Zetterberg. While Pettersson does not have the potential, as least in my eye, to become a future Conn Smythe winner and 30-goal scorer, Pettersson seemingly sees the game the same way.
His vision for passes and shooting lanes is second to none in the offensive zone, and his knack for simply being aware of the positions his teammates are in is incomparable. If Pettersson has the puck in the offensive zone, don’t touch the pass unless it lands right on your tape – because if it doesn’t, it isn’t for you.
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“He’s still very lean and needs to pack on some pounds for the next step, but as he gets stronger and more mature the debate will be how high can he go? Because the potential is there,” Marek adds.
To reiterate to Marek’s quotes, that’s the one thing- the final step to his development -that Pettersson needs, is to bulk up. At 161 pounds, he’s big and lanky but does not have the size to muscle past NHL defensemen and create plays in the cycle.
It’s been noted by Marek and Pettersson’s coaches in Hockeyallsvenskan that Elias will not fall into a power forward game, but that his size will surely need some improvement. In the World Junior Championship, as Pettersson represented Sweden in Quebec this past season, he was all too often shoved off of pucks by stronger players.
Pettersson is best in space, due to his immense passing and skating abilities, but he will need to work on building his frame up to the 190 and 200 pound range to gain a boardplay advantage. At 6’2″, there’s more size-based perks to be had with Pettersson’s body than his current weight shows.
As his hockey IQ is as high as ever, in addition to his shot and skating that will surely come to him as he grows into his body, board play is one of the few things Pettersson needs to drastically improve to make a difference.
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Pettersson will likely remain in the Swedish hockey ranks for a year of two prior to making the jump to the United States or Canada to work on his finesse and further his playmaking skills. He’s a total swing for the fences, risk vs reward type player to many, but I get the feeling that a player like him in a changing NHL will do nothing but succeed.