After making history in the Swedish Elite League last season, Elias Pettersson comes to the Vancouver Canucks as one of the most hyped prospects in recent memory, perhaps ever.

And while there was some discussion about whether or not Pettersson would jump straight to the NHL, it appears as though coach Travis Green intends to start the phenom at centre. It’s not an easy gig; centre is widely known as the hardest forward position to play in hockey. And he’s going to be doing it in a division that boasts Anze Kopitar, Joe Thornton and Connor McDavid, among others.

While Pettersson is likely to see some sheltered offensive minutes against the opposition’s lower lines—Bo Horvat and Brandon Sutter’s units are likely to face the tougher minutes—but it’ll still be asking a lot of a rookie.

So if Pettersson does indeed start the year at centre—not a guarantee but it does seem likely at this point—it begs the question of whom he suits up with.

If we assume that Green will keep last year’s mostly successful first line intact, with Horvat centering Brock Boeser and Sven Baertschi, it leaves us with six or so options to fill Pettersson’s wings.

We also know Green prefers deploying Sutter in a shutdown role. Last year he often put Markus Granlund with Sutter while trying a few different options with those two. Jake Virtanen, Loui Eriksson, Darren Archibald, Brendan Gaunce and Sam Gagner were all given stints on Sutter’s line.

New additions Antoine Roussel and Tim Schaller both seem like plausible options for Sutter’s line. Barring an injury—and it looks like Roussel will be fine after all—one wonders if there’s space for Pettersson’s friend and former linemate in Sweden, Jonathan Dahlen.

Who we’d like to see with Pettersson:

Nikolay Goldobin has looked good in camp, especially in some drills and scrimmages with Pettersson. Those two would absolutely fly around the ice together. Ideally, we’d love to see a Goldobin-Pettersson-Virtanen unit. The speed those three could generate against defenders would be something else.

However, it doesn’t look like there’ll be space for Goldobin at the NHL level, at least at the start of the year.

Who we think will be with Pettersson:

Green will undoubtedly want a veteran presence to help his phenom along the way, and we can see that being Loui Eriksson. The fellow Swede is a responsible player in his own end and will be able to teach Pettersson about some of the defensive aspects of the game. He also has a—though untapped in Vancouver—scoring touch that maybe Pettersson can unlock.

With those two, Virtanen would be perfect. His forechecking instincts and speed would mean he can go and get the puck for his linemates while installing a physical brand of play that the other two aren’t necessarily known for.

What the Canucks shouldn’t do:

Seeing a player of Pettersson’s skill level with someone like Sam Gagner would be a bit of a shame. Gagner has decent puck skills, yes, but you have to think that there are other players on this roster that Petterson would be able to really jibe with.

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