乌鸦传媒淭he harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.乌鸦传媒�

It乌鸦传媒檚 a quote attributed to NFL coaching legend Vince Lombardi. If you乌鸦传媒檝e been in a football team乌鸦传媒檚 training facility, odds are you乌鸦传媒檝e seen it.

The meaning behind it is simple. The more you put into something, the more you have to lose.

Which leads us to Vancouver Canucks star Elias Pettersson.

Pettersson has become a lightning rod for criticism from Canuck Nation for his sub-standard play for almost half a season now.

Listen to any Canucks post-game show on Sportsnet 650 or take a glance on 乌鸦传媒榅乌鸦传媒� and you乌鸦传媒檒l find out rather quickly just how much heat Pettersson is taking.

With only two even-strength goals in his past 42 games including playoffs, you can understand why there is some angst among fans especially considering the fact Pettersson is in year one of an eight-year, $92.8 million dollar contract.

Now Pettersson did mention at the end of last season that he was dealing with tendonitis in his knee. Granted most players are dealing with something after two rounds of playoffs but there is a difference between playing injured and playing hurt.

Given the way the Canucks organization reacted to Pettersson乌鸦传媒檚 knee issue, they obviously believed he was playing hurt 乌鸦传媒� which is to be expected during the playoffs. How much it impacted his play only he knows.

So let乌鸦传媒檚 fast forward to this year.

We乌鸦传媒檙e four games into the 2024-25 NHL season and Pettersson has yet to score. His play drew the wrath of Canucks fans after the first three games of the season although it did improve in the 3-2 overtime win against the Florida Panthers on Thursday night which bought him a reprieve from criticism.

Yet the question remains: what does Pettersson have to do to get his game back on track?

What I have found interesting is that Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet has mentioned his practice habits on a couple of occasions with the latest being during an appearance on 乌鸦传媒淗alford and Brough乌鸦传媒� on Sportsnet 650 prior to the start of the season.

Tocchet talked about coaching players like Sidney Crosby, who were 乌鸦传媒榦bsessed乌鸦传媒� with the game and believes that Pettersson is transitioning to that. He referenced examples of going above and beyond in your practice habits in an effort to achieve greatness.

Now to be perfectly clear, we are not calling Pettersson lazy.

Pettersson is a tremendous talent but talent alone doesn乌鸦传媒檛 make you into a superstar.

During our radio days, we had the opportunity to interview a lot of athletes and coaches in various sports.

When the question was asked about that superstar player on their team and what surprised them or what they learned from that player, there was one common denominator: the individual乌鸦传媒檚 work ethic.

Whether it was a Crosby, MacKinnon or McDavid, all you would hear about was how their work ethic 乌鸦传媒� both on and off the ice 乌鸦传媒� was off the charts.

No one is saying that Pettersson goes through the motions, but judging by what Tocchet is saying about him, he has to find that extra gear in his practice habits and transition that to his in-game performance.

I乌鸦传媒檝e always talked about that 乌鸦传媒渆xtra 5 per cent乌鸦传媒� and I was chuckling when former Canucks head coach Travis Green used the exact same phrase one night during his post-game media session.

As an athlete, if you can find that 乌鸦传媒渆xtra 5 per cent,乌鸦传媒� your game will take off exponentially and that乌鸦传媒檚 what Tocchet is pushing for with Pettersson.

Pettersson has the skill to be a superstar player in the NHL 乌鸦传媒� there is no question about that.

But he will not reach that status until his work ethic goes to the next level.

It乌鸦传媒檚 going to be interesting to see how this all pans out.

The Canucks乌鸦传媒� success as a team just might depend on it.

OVERTIME

* The Canucks did pick up their first win of the season against the Panthers on J.T. Miller乌鸦传媒檚 overtime winner. It was the 13th time that Miller had scored in overtime in his career and his 10th OT marker as a Canuck.

* Tocchet was pleased with his team乌鸦传媒檚 performance. 乌鸦传媒淲e have some work to do but there was some good stuff there. There were times where we had good possession and had some chances. That乌鸦传媒檚 a championship team and they were missing some key guys but it was a good, hard-fought win,乌鸦传媒� he said afterwards.

* Vancouver plays in Philadelphia on Saturday night and then concludes its four-game road trip with a game in Chicago against the Blackhawks on Tuesday before returning to Vancouver to host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, Oct. 26.

Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob 乌鸦传媒渢he Moj乌鸦传媒� Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media.

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