NHL Player Elias Pettersson for Sportsnet

I had a fun shoot covering Elias Pettersson for Sportsnet Magazine. I’ve photographed athletes before but this great story by writer David Singh was different. Pettersson will definitely be one of the top playets in the NHl but this story wasn’t about his skills on the ice. Instead it was about his compassion and a bond with childhood friends. And his willingness to protect them.

Always a scramble for me to try to setup a nice portrait. Elias had just finished practice and I had scouted an interesting wall at the rink. Thanks to the Canucks PR for being so accommodating.

When I first met Elias he had just finished practice. He was one of the last ones off the ice. I hear that’s the norm with him. As he skated off he came over removed his glove and shook my hand. Just a simple polite gesture that really conveyed his character.

In 2011 when Pettersson was in middle school, two of his closest friends Valerik and Davit Danielyan along with their older brother and family were being rounded up by Swedish police. The family was being deported back to Armenia after a decade of living in the small town of Agne in Sweden.

NHL Canucks player Elias Pettersson collects pucks in the net after practice.

The whole town got together and marched against the deportation. Including Pettersson who wanted to get his friends back. And after several months, with lots of publicity and reaching out to politicians the Danielyan family were allowed to return to Sweden.

Elias Pettersson gives his childhood pals a tour of the Canucks’ ice rink.