Canucks ink Swedish star Pettersson to entry deal

[May 26, 2018]    The Vancouver Canucks signed Elias Pettersson, the No. 5 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, to a three-year, entry-level contract on Friday.

Pettersson, 19, showed his skill with Sweden at the 2018 IIHF World Championship, scoring three points in five games. He suffered a broken thumb at the tournament and is expected to be ready for the start of training camp in September.

"Elias is a talented offensive player with tremendous vision and skill," Canucks general manager Jim Benning said in a statement. "Like most Canucks fans we watched with excitement the incredible season he had in Sweden. This is an important offseason of training and development for Elias and we expect him to be ready to challenge for a roster spot in training camp."

Pettersson led the Swedish Hockey League in both regular-season (56 points) and playoff (19 points) scoring in his first season with Vaxjo HC in 2017-18. He was named rookie of the year, best forward, MVP and playoff MVP.

--Field Level Media

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