Few players are under more pressure heading into the 2025-26 season as Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson. The 26-year-old is coming off a disappointing season which feature multiple injuries and a feud with J.T. Miller that ended up becoming public. Now entering his eight NHL season, Pettersson seems focused on putting the past behind him and having a significant bounce back next year.
Recently, Pettersson spoke with NHL.com/sv writer Peter Ekholm. The two discussed a variety of topics in Swedish, which were then translated by Google Translate for use in this article. The first question addressed his size, as Ekholm had noticed that Pettersson had broader shoulders than last season.
"I've put on a little (muscle), said Pettersson. "It's always about building basic strength that will turn into speed and agility, speed on the ice. Putting on a few pounds, getting stronger in general is always the goal. But for me, it's always a little bonus to put on a few pounds."
Pettersson then addressed his injury history and last season. Unlike the 2024 off-season, he is fully healthy and can train properly for the season. As Pettersson explained, he is going to use the lessons he learned from last year to be better for the 2025-25 season.
Vancouver Canucks 2025–26 Player Preview: Center Elias Pettersson
Welcome to The Hockey News - <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks">Vancouver Canucks</a> site's player preview series for the 2025–26 season. In these articles, we'll preview the players who are expected to play for the Canucks in the 2025–26 season. In this edition, we take a look at Vancouver's number one center, Elias Pettersson.
"I know what I can do. I haven't actually thought about it, but for my part, I want revenge. I'm not happy with the season that was. But it's done now. There's no point in dwelling on it. I'm learning from what happened last season to become a better and more mature player for next year."
Next season, the Canucks are expected to have a few younger players in their lineup. This includes some younger Swedish players like Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Linus Karlsson and defenseman Elias Pettersson. Having been in their shoes before, Pettersson is ready to help the younger players adjust to life in the NHL.
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"It's great. Fun to watch. It makes you think back to the journey you took yourself, when you came up in the league and tried to settle in. Everyone is a good player. Everyone has good qualities. I just try to be a good teammate and help with what I see that I can help them with... I try to lead by example, but then I know that I can always become better as a leader, in that aspect. I try as best I can, but I try to become better."
This off-season, Vancouver made a significant move by trading for Evander Kane. The 34-year-old has scored over 20 goals nine times in his career and has over 2,200 hits over his 930 regular-season games. For Pettersson, he is excited to play with Kane as he feels that the Vancouver-born winger can bring a physical element to the team.
"I was very happy when I saw that trade. That's the kind of player we need, a player who is tough but who at the same time has a nose for goals and can score goals."
To wrap up the interview, Ekholm asked Pettersson about the Canucks re-signing Brock Boeser. On July 1, Vancouver signed Boeser to a seven-year extension, keeping the 28-year-old with the Canucks until 2032. Based on his answer, it is clear that Pettersson is excited to have Boeser back for the foreseeable future.
"He has been there all the years I have been there, and it is very nice that he signed. It is fun and important that we were able to keep almost all of our players because I feel we have something good going on."
The 2025-26 season may be the most important of Pettersson's career to date. Not only does he need to lead Vancouver back to the playoffs, but will be relied upon heavily by Team Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The good news is that Pettersson sounds confident and ready to get back to his Selke-level form next year.
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