"Elias is a talented offensive player with tremendous vision and skill," Canucks general manager Jim Benning said. "Like most Canucks fans we watched with excitement the incredible season he had in Sweden. This is an important offseason of training and development for Elias and we expect him to be ready to challenge for a roster spot in training camp."
Pettersson was named regular season and playoff MVP after helping Vaxjo win the Swedish Hockey League championship. He led the SHL with 56 points (24 goals, 32 assists) and a plus-27 rating in 44 regular-season games, and set a league record for most points by an under-20 player; the previous mark was 53 points by Kent Nilsson in 1975-76. Pettersson then led the SHL playoffs in goals (10) and points (19).