Pettersson\u2019s first season in the NHL and Bieksa\u2019s last in the league both came with the 2017-18 Anaheim Ducks<\/p>\n
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Published Sep 17, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a Kevin Bieksa influence on this latest version of the Vancouver Canucks<\/a> thanks to Marcus Pettersson.\u00a0<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. 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Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events.Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account.The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Account<\/p>\n or<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Pettersson\u2019s first season in the NHL and Bieksa\u2019s last in the league both came with the 2017-18 Anaheim Ducks, and Pettersson lists Bieksa as one of the veterans on that team that he learned the ropes from, along with fellow blueliner Francois Beauchemin and forwards Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Pettersson, 29, is prepping for his first full season with Vancouver after coming over from the Pittsburgh Penguins in a trade last February. Five days after the swap, the Canucks signed the rangy Swede to a six-year contract extension with a cap hit of $5.5 million, looking to build up their rearguard corps.<\/p>\n Pettersson was a team-best plus-eight in his 31 games with the Canucks last season. The 6-foot-5, 174-pound left shot defender is the type Vancouver can call on for important match-up minutes against other team\u2019s star players, the type who can play the last minute while protecting a lead. He averaged two minutes, 23 seconds of ice time per game on the penalty kill with Vancouver last season, which was a team high.\u00a0<\/p>\n Canucks Report<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Bieksa, 44, was a key member of the franchise\u2019s best-ever defence group, a unit that also included Christian Ehrhoff, Alex Edler, Dan Hamhuis and Sami Salo, and spearheaded that run to the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.<\/p>\n Bieksa played his last three seasons with the Ducks. He lives in Anaheim with his family and is a celebrated analyst on Hockey Night in Canada. He should be a frequent visitor to the Lower Mainland this winter, too, since his son Cole, 17, is a winger with the BCHL\u2019s Coquitlam Express. Cole was a late cut from the WHL\u2019s Vancouver Giants.<\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t seen him around here yet,\u201d Pettersson said with a smile when asked after an informal skate at UBC this week if he has had a conversation with Bieksa about coming to Vancouver.\u00a0 \u201cI know that he had a great career here and the fans loved him and the organization loved him. I know he loved playing here, too.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cJust watching Beauchemin and Bieksa prepare every day and how long they did it and at the level they did it \u2026 there was Getzlaf and Perry, too \u2026 but for me, it was a lot of Beauchemin and Bieksa.<\/p>\n \u201cYou gain knowledge from everywhere you go. I was around veterans in Pittsburgh who had won Stanley Cups, and you look at what they do on a daily basis and try to implement it.\u201d<\/p>\n His first hockey mentor was his father. Daniel Pettersson, 56, was a centre for 13 seasons with Skelleftea, their hometown pro team. He split time between the first and second tiers in Sweden.<\/p>\n \u201cHe quit playing when I was four or five, so I don\u2019t remember too much about him playing, but just being around hockey that much was awesome for me,\u201d Pettersson said. \u201cHe was my coach growing up.\u00a0 He never pushed me, but if I wanted to do something with hockey he had a lot of knowledge. I could always come to him for advice.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cI call him about all stuff in life really, but hockey is one of the things.\u201d<\/p>\n Pettersson now takes on that role model roll with Vancouver, and you would think that would be especially effective with Swedish rearguards Elias Pettersson<\/a>, 21, and Tom Willander, 20.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we have a good hungry group here that\u2019s ready to go,\u201d Marcus Pettersson said. \u201cI think our compete level is very high. You see it even in things like these informal skates.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we have our best years ahead of us here. And it\u2019s a great place to live for my family. I have a two-year-old now. It\u2019s not just myself to think about. I like Canada as a country and Vancouver is a great place. We fell in love as soon as we came here.\u201d<\/p>\n Anaheim took Pettersson in the second round (No. 38 overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft, two picks after the Canucks selected goaltender Thatcher Demko<\/a>. The Ducks traded him to Pittsburgh in December 2018 for Daniel Sprong, the much-travelled winger who wound up having a nine-game stint in Vancouver last season.<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The Canucks landed Pettersson and winger Drew O\u2019Connor from Pittsburgh for defenceman Vincent Desharnais, winger Danton Heinen, forward prospect Melvin Fernstrom, and a conditional first-round pick.\u00a0<\/p>\n The pick wound up being No. 12 overall this past June, and the Philadelphia Flyers traded up for it, sending Pittsburgh the No. 20 and No. 31 overall selections in return. Philadelphia used that choice on Jack Nesbitt, a 6-foot-5, 185-pound centre who had 25 goals and 64 points last season in the OHL for the Windsor Spitfires.<\/p>\n @SteveEwen<\/p>\n SEwen@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n![\"marcus\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0918-pettersson-bieksa-1.jpg\")
Marcus Pettersson skates in his 500th career NHL game against the Seattle Kraken in March. Photo by Steph Chambers \/Getty ImagesArticle content<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/19.5.1\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-vp.svg\"){kind=logo}
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Kevin Bieksa competes against the Chicago Blackhawks during Game One of the Western Conference Semifinal Round of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 30, 2009 at General Motors Place Photo by Richard Lam \/Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"canucks](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2209377892_294975418.jpg\")
Marcus Pettersson is congratulated at the bench after scoring a goal against the Minnesota Wild at Rogers Arena on April 12. Photo by Derek Cain \/Getty Images<\/p>\n
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