Hit the jackpot at SHL Awards

Photo: Marcus Vilson

SHL Awards was held on Sunday evening as Swedish hockey players were rewarded for their efforts on the ice. One player in particular hit the jackpot.

Växjö Lakers and Vancouver Canucks draftee Elias Pettersson won three awards and was the big winner Sunday evening: Rookie of the Year, Best Forward and MVP. Awards that were well earned by the young player.

The 6’2″ and 165 pound young forward had an amazing first year in SHL. Not only did he win the gold medal with Växjö Lakers, he also had a lot of success during his debut season in SHL as he broke Kent “The Magic Man” Nilsson’s record of Most Points by Junior. Pettersson was named Forward of the Year, was first in the league in scoring, honored as Most Valuable Player, was Playoffs MVP (Stefan Liv Memorial Trophy), was Rookie of the Year, had the best plus/minus, and finally he won a Silver Medal at U20 World Junior Championships with Team Sweden.

Pettersson’s performance has not only paid off in awards, he also earned a spot on Team Sweden’s preliminary roster for the IIHF World Championships in Denmark which will be played between May 4th and May 20th.

The future is very bright for the 19 year old super talent. The big question is, how big can he get? Sweden has delivered a lot of great players such as Börje Salming, Niklas Lidström, Mats Sundin, Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin, Peter Forsberg and now Elias Pettersson. There’s obviously many more players who could be mentioned, but these are some of the greatest and I dare say that Pettersson is going to join them, regardless of his age.