Pettersson’s impressive start to the 2023-24 season is a continuation of his strong 2022-23 NHL campaign.
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Elias Pettersson won’t be ignored.
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The Vancouver Canucks’ No. 1 centre has been named the NHL’s second star of the month for October, recognition for his sensational opening to the 2023-24 NHL season.
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Through nine games on the season, Pettersson has five goals and 11 assists. His 16 total points has him in second place in league scoring, behind only New Jersey centre Jack Hughes, who has 18 points.
Pettersson’s shooting percentage is 25 per cent, which is somehow only the 17th-best shooting success rate in the league.
Led by Pettersson, Hughes’ brother Quinn, goalie Thatcher Demko and the mercurial J.T. Miller, the Canucks are off to their best start on a season since 2005-06, going 6-2-1 in October. The Canucks sit fourth overall in the entire NHL.
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Pettersson’s 16-point haul is tied for third-most in team history through the opening nine games, tying Paul Reinhart in 1989-90. The crafty blueliner also had five goals and 11 assists to open the Canucks’ 20th campaign.
The only two Canucks to pick up more points over the season’s opening nine games were a pair of linemates on the 1983-84 team: Tony Tanti and Patrik Sundström. Tanti scored 11 goals and added eights assists, while his centreman Sundström had six goals and 11 assists.
Pettersson’s season-opening haul, which included a hat trick on Tuesday night versus Nashville — the second hat trick of his career — has pushed him over the point-per-game pace for his career. He now has 339 points in 334 career games.
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His career scoring pace — 1.01 points per game — is third-highest all-time among Canucks skaters, behind Pavel Bure’s 1.12 points per game over the 428 games he suited up for as a Canuck and Miller’s 1.07 points per game over the 292 games he’s been a Canuck.
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