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NHL DRAFT 2017June 23, 2017Elias PetterssonChicago, Illinois ELIAS PETTERSSON: I had a feeling maybe I could get picked by Canucks because I've been there after the combine. It feels good to be a Canuck. Q. Talk about the process of talking to the Canucks. Did you have a pretty good feeling that they were one of the teams that really had a high interest in you? ELIAS PETTERSSON: Yes, they were the team who showed the most interest in me. I had a feeling about that. But you never know who you're going to get picked because you don't -- I can't control where I'm going to get picked. Q. Canucks really wanted to get a play-making center. There were some pretty good guys still on the board. What do you think sets your game apart? When you're playing at your best, what do you think you're doing well? ELIAS PETTERSSON: I think I create a lot of scoring chances both for me and my teammates. I make -- I'm a play maker, like to pass the puck more than shoot it maybe more often, and I'm an offensive player. Q. When the Canucks acquired Jonathan Dahlen, did you think maybe there's some chance here that they're looking at a couple guys who played on the same team and maybe you could one day play together at this level? Did you think about that? ELIAS PETTERSSON: Yes, but when he got traded from Ottawa to Vancouver, my first thought wasn't that I'm going to get picked fifth in the draft. But it feels good to have my best friend in Vancouver, too. Q. You've played a lot of hockey at a lot of different levels over two years. Do you feel you're pretty close to playing in the National Hockey League? ELIAS PETTERSSON: Not really, I think. I've got a lot to learn, a lot to become stronger. But I want to -- I always dreamed to play in the NHL. I want to be as quick as possible. Q. You were listed at 165 pounds. Are you still there? ELIAS PETTERSSON: Yes, I'm still -- Q. You've got some work -- do you think you would benefit from maybe a couple more years in Sweden to play at a higher level and put on the weight you need? ELIAS PETTERSSON: Yeah, because now I don't think I'm ready for NHL. I need to become stronger and faster. I'm aware of that, and I'm working on that this summer. Q. Is there somebody in the NHL you like to pattern your game after? ELIAS PETTERSSON: I'm a player who plays with lots of instincts, but I like how Nicklas Backstrom plays. He's a guy who makes teammates better, creates chances for himself, so yeah. But I've got a lot to learn to get on his level. Q. What did the Canucks tell you you need to work on to make that step to the NHL? ELIAS PETTERSSON: To eat a lot. No, just kidding. We haven't really talked about that. I train with a strength and physical coach with my team in Sweden, and we have a plan for me to become stronger and faster. Q. Do you think you'll be strong enough to play in the SHL next season or are you going to stay -- ELIAS PETTERSSON: I think I'm going to be ready for SHL. Q. Do you know if Jonathan Dahlen will be joining you there, too? ELIAS PETTERSSON: Well, I hope so, but he doesn't tell me too much, so I can't answer that. Q. What did he tell you about the Canucks organization? ELIAS PETTERSSON: He likes it a lot there, and he was -- I texted him before -- he texted me that he really wanted me to be a Canuck, so I guess he's really happy right now. Q. How special is this for your family? Your brother was already drafted into the NHL. That's something not a lot of families get to experience. ELIAS PETTERSSON: I think it's very special. My mom and dad, they've always been there for me, so I hope they are proud of me because they mean a lot to me. Q. Did you have a chance to come to Vancouver this summer at all? I heard you were in town briefly. Were you there? ELIAS PETTERSSON: Yes, I was, after the combine. Q. Did you get a chance to meet the Sedins at all? ELIAS PETTERSSON: Yeah, they were actually training there, so they're nice people. Q. What was it like to meet them because I imagine even at your age you understand how big of players they are? ELIAS PETTERSSON: Absolutely, they are very big. I watched them throughout the years. They make hockey look way too easy sometimes, but they are very good players, and it was very fun to meet them. Q. They might sign an extension; would it be something to come to a camp in a year or so and be around them? ELIAS PETTERSSON: Yeah, I don't see any negative to that, but to be at camp with them would be great. Q. The Canucks are even thinking if they had to they would trade down to get you. They really, really wanted you. Do you think your game is suited for the NHL because the game is changing, right, it's more speed, it's more play making, it's more thinking, hold onto to the puck. You see the way Backstrom plays. Do you think your game is really suited to the NHL? ELIAS PETTERSSON: Yeah, I like that. I see myself as a play maker who protects the pucks and creates a lot of chances, and I think my game in some years will be great in the NHL. Q. When did you know that you would have a chance to get drafted and do this for a living one day? ELIAS PETTERSSON: I really thought about that question, but maybe one half year ago when I got up in the A team in Timra. I got a lot of -- I got to say a big thank you to Timra because they believed in me and played me a lot, so I've got to say thank you. Q. Did you play other sports growing up or just hockey? ELIAS PETTERSSON: And soccer. Q. Do you find soccer is good for coordination and everything? ELIAS PETTERSSON: Yeah. Q. What do you need to work on? ELIAS PETTERSSON: I need to become stronger, gain some weight. I am not the fastest guy from the start. I need to become quicker off the start. Q. What do you think sets you apart? Do you think you think the game better than other people or patience or holding onto the puck? What do you think makes you different or maybe better than some other players? ELIAS PETTERSSON: Oh, I don't like to talk good about myself, but maybe -- I like to be maybe one step ahead of my opponents when I'm maybe forechecking or with 50/50 situations. I always like to have a plan or idea to win the situation. Q. When you talked to the Canucks at the combine, did you have a feeling that they might draft you? ELIAS PETTERSSON: Yeah, I got -- yeah, maybe. But you never know. But before the combine they called my agent and my agent called me that they wanted to fly me over to have a meeting in Vancouver, and then it was maybe -- Q. You were in Vancouver before the combine? ELIAS PETTERSSON: No, after the combine. I was first to Toronto after the combine, then I flew from Toronto to Vancouver. Q. When you went to Rogers Arena, the Sedins were working out? Is that when you met them? ELIAS PETTERSSON: Yeah, I had a breakfast meeting with Trevor, and then we took a car to the arena, they showed me around the locker room, and then the Sedins were -- Q. They were already working out? ELIAS PETTERSSON: Yeah. Q. You can take something from that, how hard they train? ELIAS PETTERSSON: Yeah, absolutely. I heard that they always train hard, and even though you think you train hard, you can always train harder. Q. How has it been for you the last couple of days? How did you feel today and what do you feel right now? ELIAS PETTERSSON: Right now it feels amazing. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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