It appears that Vancouver Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet has received some scouting advice on his newest players. According to Tocchet, after the Canucks acquired Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor from the Pittsburgh Penguins, he received a text from Sidney Crosby about the two players. Tocchet was Crosby’s assistant coach for three years in Pittsburgh and will once again get the chance to work with the future Hall of Famer at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
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“Sid texted me yesterday about the two guys we got,” said Tocchet. “When Sid says they’re great locker room guys and really good people and players, it means a lot. That’s why we got those two guys.”
Crosby knows both Pettersson and O’Connor very well. Pettersson played the last seven seasons with the Penguins, while O’Connor has played 210 regular-season games in the NHL, all with Pittsburgh. Considering Crosby’s reputation, a positive review like this is a good indicator that Vancouver brought in the right players.
Tocchet also spoke extensively on Pettersson, who is expected to play a significant role on the blue line. This season, the Swedish defenceman has 18 points and is averaging 22:03 of ice time. According to Tocchet, Assistant Coach Adam Foote is excited about the acquisition and has already started watching clips of the 6’5″ defender.
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“I know Footey looked at some video of him. He’s really pumped to have him. High hockey-IQ. I know he’s well-liked, and he’s a leader. Sid told me he’s a big leader in there. I don’t want him to fight, but he’s actually stuck up for his teammates. He’s fought some of the biggest guys in the league. You got to give a guy like that a lot of credit.”
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Pettersson and O’Connor are both expected to make their Canucks debuts on Sunday against the Detroit Red Wings. This will be Vancouver’s first home game since the trades on Friday, which also brought Filip Chytil and Victor Mancini. Game time is set for 5:00 pm PT from Rogers Arena.
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