EDMONTON – There really isn’t a chicken-or-egg conundrum about what may be the rebirth of Elias Pettersson as an impactful player.

He doesn’t feel good because he’s playing better. He’s playing better because he feels good.

Of course, both of those things are true. But the root of Pettersson’s resurgence through the first 18 games of this National Hockey League season is a healthier environment around the Vancouver Canucks and the better headspace the Swedish centre brought into training camp after two years in which he was like a hologram many nights.

“For sure, I definitely feel a difference,” Pettersson told Sportsnet in a quiet conversation after Friday’s practice in Edmonton. “I mean, I wasn't true to myself these last two years. But this summer, the end of last season, I started working with a mental coach and, honestly, that's been game-changing for me — just to be clear on where to put my focus. Obviously, I feel like myself, but better. I know there's still growth that I want to do, but it's definitely been a huge difference for me.

“I mean, (team) results don't show it, but I think the environment and everything for everyone is better. I don't like to talk about the past, but just the environment they’ve created, it's good. I've seen the difference.”

The environment, and what it could mean for Pettersson, is something general manager Ryan Johnson has talked about — and cultivated — since he was hired in May to become the Canucks’ new general manager and chief architect of the biggest rebuild in franchise history.

He and coach Manny Malhotra have been emphatic that the foundation for the rebuild would be a positive environment and expectations about player standards, including how they would be treated and how they should treat each other.

Near the epicentre of the dysfunction that former Canucks president Jim Rutherford amplified publicly, Pettersson averaged just 15 goals and 48 points the last two seasons after being strong-armed into a franchise-record $92.8 contract ahead of the 2024 NHL trade deadline.

But........

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