Has Elias Pettersson already passed Derek Forbort on the Canucks’ defensive depth chart?

Forbort has quietly settled in as a solid depth option after the passing of his father, and a knee injury dealt him a couple of tough blows early in his first season in Vancouver. However, since returning to the lineup in mid-December, he’s been an every-night regular, logging 18 minutes of ice and has been one of the Canucks top penalty killers. He’s not flashy but has been a steadying presence on the back end and has carried a 50% CF while getting outscored 9-6 in 360 minutes at 5-on-5. In the team’s final game before the 4 Nations break, Forbort skated alongside Filip Hronek and was fourth among all Canucks defenders logging 18:57 of ice time. Compare that to young Pettersson, who was clearly the sixth defender that night playing 11:19 – all of them at even strength.

At just 20, Pettersson has impressed in his brief time in the National Hockey League. He’s appeared in six games and his team is 5-0-1 in that span. He made his debut in a home-ice victory against a good Washington club on January 25th and has also been part of notable wins over Colorado and Toronto. He’s poised, he’s punishing, and in his first full season in North America, he’s well ahead of schedule in terms of his development. In sheltered minutes so far, Pettersson has produced a 55.6% individual Corsi while the team has scored twice and given up a pair of goals.

But is he already one of the team’s top six defencemen? In the first two practices after the break with Hughes on the ice, Pettersson has skated alongside Carson Soucy – giving the indication those two could very well form the club’s third pair when the Canucks resume their schedule on Saturday in Vegas. Forbort rotated in with that duo during practices on Tuesday and again on Wednesday.

Assistant coach Adam Foote, who handles the Canucks defence and is running practices with Rick Tocchet away on Team Canada duty, wouldn’t make any declaration about his plans for the third pair but says a number of factors will go into the decision about how the Canucks construct their blueline. 

“It’s more and more depth at every position which is what everyone wants,” Foote said after practice on Wednesday. “It’s great to have, so it’s exciting.”

Like most observers, Foote has been impressed with D-Petey, but he’s quick to point out that the rookie hasn’t been perfect. Not that anyone in the organization was expecting him to be. Foote loves the fact that Pettersson is pushing for ice time and a regular role with the big league team but also explains that he’s going to have to earn his spot with solid practice habits and attention to detail.

“He’s a young guy and he’s going to have his bumps,” Foote says. “The Toronto game he played well, but there were some bumps which is okay. It’s a fast-paced game, there are things that happen quick and that’s normal. Yeah, he’s shown well, but you also want to be careful at such a young age. Tocc and the organization will pace that the right way. It’s good to have the depth, though.”

A hard-nosed player in his day, Foote has an appreciation for what Derek Forbort has gone through this season and the years of experience he brings to the rink. 

It’s those battles he’s been a part of over his time in the NHL that may give Forbort a leg up on Pettersson for a nightly spot in the line-up down the stretch.

“He’s a veteran and he plays hard,” Foote explains. “He has really good reads on the penalty kill or against top lines. If he can stay healthy, you can really notice – we notice – when he’s out there, we spend less time in our end. He can close plays. He’s a big body and he brings that presence as far as other teams’ stronger, tougher players know when he’s in the line-up. You have to be careful. He’s hard on the walls. He’s very smart reads. And it’s really nice for us knowing how predictable is and what he’s going to bring. And he’s shown well when he’s healthy.”

Friday’s practice in Vegas could very well serve as a dress rehearsal for Saturday’s showdown against the Golden Knights. It will be worth monitoring to see if Quinn Hughes looks like he’s good to go. If he is, that will have a trickle-down effect on the line-up, and it will be interesting to see how the third pair shakes out. 

The Canucks have options now. And that’s a good thing. Elias Pettersson is showing every indication that he’s a part of what the organization is putting together. But with a fully healthy roster, his time may not quite be now. It’s hard to see him pushing Derek Forbort aside at this stage.