Elias Pettersson had a strange year last season. He started the season poor but got going during the spring, as the Vancouver Canucks as a whole did. Under new head coach Bruce Boudreau, the team was flying, and Elias Pettersson was also.
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The young Swede also had trouble with a hand injury holding him back, and he often spoke about how he missed not having a full pre-season last summer. However, this summer, Pettersson’s been healthy, and last night, it showed.
In the pre-season game against the Edmonton Oilers last night, Pettersson was one of the best players on the ice, and he scored two beautiful goals, unleashing his powerful shots at both times.
But in the third period, before his two goals, the Canucks fans held their breaths as Pettersson flew in the boards after Markus Niemelainen hit him from behind. The hit was ugly and dangerous, and Pettersson stayed on the ice and held his hands on his head.
Several teammates of Pettersson rushed to the situation to take care of Niemelainen, and a small scrum occurred. That’s when Edmonton Oilers veteran Jason Demers stepped up. He saw that Pettersson, who was in pain, almost got run over in the scrum. So instead of intervening in the fighting, he protected Pettersson and pushed him out of the situation.
A small gesture to an opponent like that can mean a lot, and although Pettersson wasn’t seriously hurt, you just have to appreciate sportsmanship like that. Hats off to Jason Demers. What a gentlemanly move!
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