VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks have signed forward Elias Pettersson to a three-year entry-level contract.
The 19-year-old Swede recently completed his first season with Vaxjo HC, leading the SHL in scoring in both regular season (56 points) and playoffs (19 points).
The six-foot-two, 161-pound forward led Vaxjo to an SHL championship title and was named rookie of the year, best forward, MVP and playoff MVP.
"Elias is a talented offensive player with tremendous vision and skill," Canucks general manager Jim Benning said in a statement. "Like most Canucks fans we watched with excitement the incredible season he had in Sweden. This is an important off-season of training and development for Elias and we expect him to be ready to challenge for a roster spot in training camp."
Pettersson registered three points in five games to help Sweden win gold at the world hockey championship. He also had seven points to help Sweden take silver at the world junior championship.
Pettersson was drafted by Vancouver in the first round, fifth overall, at the 2017 NHL draft.
The Canadian Press