Despite having already been capped five times by Wales, the 23-year-old has been Owens’ understudy in Llanelli for the past few seasons.
But the Carmarthen product believes competing with the British & Irish Lions hooker on a daily basis will stand him in good stead.
“It’s definitely a plus having to compete with Ken,” said Elias.
“He’s one of the best hookers in the world, a British & Irish Lion and a good leader, so you are learning from the best.
“We are both from Carmarthen and went to the same school and the same rugby club. He calls me his apprentice and it’s good to learn off him.
“He has a lot of time for me and I have a lot of time for him. There’s a respect there.
“Hopefully I’ll get a bit more game time this year and some bigger games. I hope it’ll just be a case of change of guard when he wants to retire and I’ll take his place.”
Elias played a starring role on Wales’ unbeaten summer tour which saw them defeat South Africa and secure a series victory against Argentina.
With Warren Gatland’s men trailing the Springboks by three points it was the Scarlets hooker who took advantage of a Tomos Williams charge down to seal 22-20 victory in Washington D.C.
And the taste of international success has made Elias hungry for more ahead of the new season.
“It was a good tour. South Africa and Argentina are two tough sides and it was a good learning experience for me,” he said.
“The Argentina players and South Africans are renowned for being big boys and for playing a forward-orientated game. It’s good to test yourself against the best.
“Scoring that try against South Africa wasn’t bad, but in general getting three wins was huge for us. It was a bit of a poacher’s try.
“They were exiting, but Tomos, our scrum-half, made a dart and managed to get his hand on the ball for the charge down. I’ll be telling my grand kids I ran the length of the pitch and chipped the full-back.
“The World Cup is at the end of next year and that’s a huge thing for me. It is very competitive.
“There are some good hookers out there, so it’s no easy task, but it’s something I want to do and I’m going to work hard to get there.”
