‘He was more like a player I want to be and I want to play hard. I haven’t got into a fight this year, but I’m ready if it happens’ \u2014 Canucks blueliner Elias Pettersson on meeting Kevin Bieksa<\/p>\n
Get the latest from Ben Kuzma straight to your inbox Sign Up <\/p>\n
Published Mar 23, 2026 \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 It was like a scene out of The Godfather.<\/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. 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 SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/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. 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 There was franchise legend Kevin Bieksa holding court with young and impressionable Vancouver Canucks<\/a> defencemen Elias Pettersson<\/a>, Zeev Buium and Tom Willander during a sunny Sunday afternoon on a Kitsilano restaurant deck.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Imagine what an engaging Bieksa, the long-serving Canucks defenceman turned educational and entertaining Hockey Night In Canada analyst, could impart about making your way in the demanding NHL?<\/p>\n After all, his tenaciousness, toughness, willingness to fight and going-down-with-the-ship mentality were his trademarks. He once told this reporter that his gift of gab wasn\u2019t designed to be a springboard to TV.<\/p>\n \u201cI never thought I\u2019d be in media,\u201d admitted Bieksa. \u201cI know some people thought it would be natural, but I never thought that. When I first stopped playing, I told myself, and I had some good advice, that I\u2019m not going to say no to anybody. I\u2019m going to try everything once.\u201d<\/p>\n And Pettersson is the latest to benefit from some sage advice.<\/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 \u201cIt was great and actually the first time I met him,\u201d Pettersson said of the conversation following practice Monday. \u201cGreat lunch. Great guy. I had a good time. We talked about everything. The new culture we\u2019re getting here on the team and the old stories he had.\u201d<\/p>\n Bieksa also picked up the tab.<\/p>\n Pettersson, 22, along with Buium, 20, and Willander, 21, are too young to recall the rambunctious Bieksa willingly dragging the Canucks into the fight and scoring the winning goal to propel his club into the 2011 Stanley Cup Final series.<\/p>\n However, word gets around and there\u2019s plenty of video evidence about Bieksa\u2019s pugnacious nature that included dropping the gloves on instinct or planned aggression.<\/p>\n \u201cI would like to say I remember a lot, but I don\u2019t,\u201d admitted Pettersson. \u201cBut he was more like a player I want to be and I want to play hard. I haven\u2019t got into a fight this year, but I\u2019m ready if it happens.\u201d<\/p>\n Pettersson plays an aggressive and improving game and it shouldn\u2019t be surprising. It was evident at his initial Canucks development camp where he skated well, moved pucks with authority and dished out heavy hits with a resounding thud.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cI always had that competitiveness and wanted to be involved in everything that happens out there,\u201d stressed Pettersson.<\/p>\n That includes a year ago in Calgary when the 6-foot-3, 209 pound Vasteras, Sweden, native made quite the impression as a 2022 third-round NHL Draft choice.<\/p>\n Pettersson delivered a heavy and clean defensive zone check on charging Flames centre Nazem Kadri in the opening period of a Canucks\u2019 4-3 shootout victory. He then absorbed a cheap shot when Connor Zary responded to the hit with a vicious elbow to the back of his head.<\/p>\n Pettersson was done after just 4:06 of ice time, and was evaluated for an injury that could have been anything from a concussion to something more serious. He missed just two games and Zary was suspended for two games.<\/p>\n As impressive as that hit was, Canucks head coach Adam Foote doesn\u2019t want Pettersson to go headhunting for big hits that aren\u2019t a result of board battles or boxing out down low.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s done a pretty good job, but I\u2019m not a big believer in open-ice hits,\u201d said Foote. \u201cI don\u2019t like that and didn\u2019t when I played and never got a lot of them. You play against top lines and teams are too good and they just dodge it and go down on odd-man rushes.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve seen disasters happen. The game is too fast and you can get injuries. It\u2019s so completely overrated. It\u2019s below the top of the circles, the corners and front of the net when it\u2019s time to be hard on guys and he (Pettersson) has done a really good job with it. He\u2019s learning.\u201d<\/p>\n Add it all up and Pettersson is pumped about what awaits.<\/p>\n The young defensive core is a key element to the roster rebuild and enthusiasm easily trumps any trepidation about losses because he knows it\u2019s part of the growing process. Mistakes are going to occur and learning from them is a path to future success.<\/p>\n And that creates the right vibe.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say it\u2019s exciting,\u201d summed up Pettersson, whose advancement is on fast-forward in a first pairing with veteran Filip Hronek<\/a>. \u201cEveryone in here wants to get better, especially us defencemen as a young group.<\/p>\n \u201cWe compete hard in practice and want the best out of each other all the time. If we keep doing that, we\u2019re going to be tighter as a group. I feel like from the start of the season until now, I\u2019ve settled it down a little bit. I think I rushed a lot of plays in the beginning of the season.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, there are going to be ups and down, but lately I feel like I\u2019m calmer and better at moving the puck.\u201d<\/p>\n Pettersson grew up admiring countrymen Erik Karlsson, Nicklas Lidstrom and Victor Hedman and now looks up to former Canucks blueliner Gustav Forsling of the Florida Panthers, a good puck-mover who is strong defensively.<\/p>\n bkuzma@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Canucks: How Victor Mancini can meet the expectations of his new contract<\/p>\n![\"Vancouver](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2247211857_299922362.jpg\")
Vancouver Canucks defenceman Elias Pettersson crushes Jesper Boqvist of the Florida Panthers during a Nov. 17 game in Sunrise, Fla. Photo by Bruce Bennett \/Getty ImagesArticle content<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/20.8.1\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-vp.svg\"){kind=logo}
<\/p>\n![\"Canucks](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/20.8.1\/websites\/images\/newsletters\/icon-vs-canucksReport.svg\"\/){kind=icon}
<\/p>\n![\"alt](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0315-canucks-junior.jpg\")
Nazem Kadri is drilled by Elias Pettersson during a March 12, 2025, game at the Saddledome in Calgary. Photo by Darren Makowichuk \/DARREN MAKOWICHUK\/Postmedia<\/p>\n![\"Victor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774345411_212_2266954737_302168958.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"Vancouver](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774345411_517_0311-col-canucks-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n