Jesper Pettersson

History

2009-10: Jesper Pettersson skated for the Flemingsbergs IK club on the east coast of Sweden and played for Stockholm 1 in the TV-Pucken tournament for high school players. He had 3 assists and 8 penalty minutes in seven games with the Flemingsbergs U20 team and scored 6 goals with 7 assists and 20 penalty minutes in 24 games for the club’s U18 squad. Pettersson had no points with 4 penalty minutes in eight games during the TV-Pucken tournament.

2010-11: Pettersson moved from Flemingsbergs IK to top division club Linkoping — appearing in three games with the club’s U20 SuperElit league team — and skated for the Sweden U17 team in international play. He had no points nor penalty minutes in his brief stint with the Linkoping U20 team. Pettersson scored 5 goals with 6 assists and 94 penalty minutes in 32 regular season games for the club’s U18 team and scored 1 goal with 1 assist and 6 penalty minutes in five playoff games. He scored 2 goals with 2 assists and 10 penalty minutes in six games with the Sweden U17 squad.

2011-12: Pettersson was an assistant captain for the Linkoping U20 team in his first SuperElit league season and played for Sweden in three junior championship tournaments. He scored 3 goals with 13 assists and was plus-4 with 30 penalty minutes in 41 games for Linkoping, which missed the SuperElit playoffs. Pettersson scored 1 goal with 1 assist in five games for Sweden at the 2011 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament and had 1 goal with 16 penalty minutes in four games at the 2011 World Junior A Challenge in Canada. Pettersson was plus-7 with 1 goal, 1 assist and 4 penalty minutes in six games as Sweden reached the gold medal game at the 2012 U18 World Juniors. Pettersson was ranked 31st amongst international skaters in the Central Scouting rankings prior to the 2012 NHL Draft but was not selected.

2012-13: Pettersson made his SHL debut as an 18-year-old — opening the year with the Linkoping men’s team and skating in 14 games — before finishing the year with the club’s U20 squad. He scored 1 goal with 2 assists and was plus-6 with 6 penalty minutes; averaging eight minutes of ice time in SHL play. An assistant captain for the club’s U20 squad he scored 3 goals with 9 assists in 18 games and was plus-13 with 14 penalty minutes. Pettersson was slated to represent Sweden in the 2013 World Juniors before suffering a wrist injury while skating for the U20 team in a pre-tournament exhibition game against Canada. He was ranked 38th amongst international skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings but was not selected in the 2013 NHL Draft.

2013-14: Pettersson skated in 48 regular season contests and three playoff games for Linkoping as an SHL rookie and played for Sweden in the 2014 World Juniors. He scored 1 goal with 1 assist and was minus-8 with 30 penalty minutes during the regular season and was minus-1 with no points nor penalties in three playoff games. Linkopings upset second-place Frolunda before falling to SHL champion Skelleftea in the second round. Not ranked among the 140 international skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings, Pettersson was selected by Philadelphia in the seventh round (198th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft in his third year of draft eligibility. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Flyers in July 2014.

2014-15: Pettersson skated in 51 games for Flyers’ AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley in his first season in North America. He scored 2 goals with 5 assists and was -5 with 35 penalty minutes. The Phantoms finished fourth in the East Division, missing the AHL playoffs. 

2015-16: Pettersson played in 24 AHL games with Lehigh Valley, spending most of his second season in the ECHL with Reading. He scored 1 goal with 2 assists and was -4 with 12 penalty minutes playing for the Phantoms. Lehigh Valley finished seventh in the Atlantic Division and did not make the playoffs. Pettersson was able to showcase some of his offensive skills in a larger role with the Royals. He scored 4 goals with 16 assists and was +12 with 20 penalty minutes in 43 regular season games. Reading finished third in the East Division, facing Toledo in a first-round playoff series.

Talent Analysis

Petterson, though shorter than the average NHL defenseman, skates well and is strong positionally for a young player. He also plays larger than his 5-foot-9 frame.

Future

Petterson displayed an offensive side to his game in 2015-16, albeit in the ECHL, in his second pro season in North America. Skating for the Reading Royals after seeing limited ice time in 24 games with the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms, he was able to put his skating and playmaking skills to use. Entering the third year of his original entry-level contract, the diminutive Swedish blueliner could be caught in a numbers game in trying to move up to the Phantoms. He has potential as a puck moving Michael Del Zotto-type defenseman but is equally likely to end up spending most of his career at the minor pro level or in Europe.