The Canucks Might Have a Future Top-Pair D-man in D-Petey

I've always thought one of the more interesting things about following a hockey team is watching a young player develop into something you didn't necessarily expect. Sometimes, the player who gets everybody excited isn't the one who eventually becomes indispensable. That's why I think Vancouver Canucks fans should keep an eye on Elias Pettersson, better known to many as D-Petey.

The 22-year-old defenceman won’t grab many headlines with his offensive numbers. Last season, he finished with 10 points in 70 games. Those aren't the sort of numbers that make people wonder whether they've found their next power-play quarterback. But I don't think that's the best way to judge him.

D-Petey Has the Tools to Become Something Special.

What I like about Pettersson is that he seems to understand what kind of player he needs to be. He's a big, defensive-minded defenceman who doesn't appear interested in making the game more complicated than it needs to be. He competes, moves the puck reasonably well, and takes pride in defending.

There's something to be said for that. Every team needs players who can create offence, but championship teams also need defencemen who can handle difficult assignments, block shots, win battles and make life miserable for opposing forwards. Those qualities matter even more in the playoffs.

Pettersson has some of those ingredients. Of course, he still has plenty of development ahead, and projecting a young defenceman into a top-pairing role is never certain. But I can see a path to him becoming the kind of reliable, shutdown defenceman teams spend years trying to find.

The Little Things Are Adding Up for the Canucks.

Pettersson has already given Vancouver some encouraging signs this season. On October 3, he scored his first goal of the campaign in a 4-1 win over Calgary. Through his first three games, he had four hits, six blocked shots and a plus-4 rating.

Those numbers won't tell the whole story, but they offer a glimpse of how he's contributing. He's currently playing on the third pairing, and with Vancouver carrying eight defencemen, he'll need to keep earning his minutes. That's part of the process. Young players don't get handed bigger roles simply because their potential looks promising. They earn them.

I'm not suggesting D-Petey is ready to become Vancouver's top defenceman tomorrow. There's a lot of work between where he is now and where he might eventually get. But the Canucks have a young defenceman worth watching. Sometimes, the most valuable player a team develops isn't the one who scores the most goals. It's the one who makes everyone else a little harder to play against.

Pettersson might eventually become that guy.