The Anaheim Ducks selected center Lucas Pettersson with the 35th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft out of MoDo Hockey’s system in Sweden.
He was the first Swedish player selected in the draft after scoring 57 points (27-30=57) in 44 games at the J20 Nationell level. He tacked on eight points (3-5=8) in seven games at the U18 World Championship, where Sweden won a bronze medal.
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“We think he’s very, very similar to William Karlsson at the same age,” Ducks assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting Martin Madden said following the draft. “He’s got elite hockey sense, really good skill and very good skating ability that might have been masked a little bit when he played center.
“This is not just a two-way center. This player has real top-six upside. He’s a home-run type of pick. He can become a regular top-six player in the NHL and a productive one at that.”
Madden has been the Ducks’ director of amateur scouting since the 2008-09 season and was part of the organization when the Ducks selected Karlsson with the 53rd overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft.
Pettersson had an inconsistent start to his 2024-25 campaign, dominating at the J20 level for MoDo but finding it difficult to carve out a role on the SHL squad.
He was initially loaned to Ostersunds IK of the HockeyAllsvenskan for six games, starting Oct. 9 and playing through Oct. 19, after which he bounced around from the SHL to HockeyAllvenskan to the J20 Nationell until the end of the 2024 calendar year.
He tallied eight points (4-4=8) in eight games at the J20 level this season and one assist in 23 games at the SHL level.
Due to his inconsistent play and role, Pettersson failed to make Sweden’s final World Junior Championship roster.
Since returning to Ostersusnds IK in HockeyAllsvenskan, Pettersson has seen his role and production increase with the team. Since his first game back on Jan. 3, a game where he scored a hat trick, he’s scored 14 points (6-8=14) in 12 games and has been regularly averaging over 20 minutes per game for his last seven games.
Lucas Pettersson, the newest Ducks prospect, is a toolsy two-way centre with high-end skating ability and budding dual-threat skill. There’s defensive potential, too.
Highlights: pic.twitter.com/FhF1TTmfXj
— Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) June 29, 2024
“Lucas Pettersson is playing very well, often logging over 20 minutes per game as a top-line centre in HockeyAllsvenskan,” Jimmy Hamrin, Swedish scout for Elite Prospects, wrote in a recent column. “Given his current form, he probably should have been on Sweden’s World Junior Championship roster last month. Despite playing for a struggling team at the bottom of the standings, he is still producing points.
“Lucas is a fast-skating centre who contributes in all three zones. He looks much stronger this season and possesses intriguing physical skills, such as using reverse hits effectively and maintaining strong puck protection along the boards. He wins puck battles with inside-driven stick checking. Offensively, he reads space well, knowing where to place the puck and when to slow down a play. He is always intense and covers a lot of ice. He isn’t an elite offensive talent, but is a competent playmaker who can carry and protect the puck at high speed. His speedy two-way game suggests he has a future as a third-line NHL centre.”
Just over a year ago, on Dec. 8, 2023, Pettersson signed a contract extension with MoDo Hockey running through the conclusion of the 2026-27 season.
With how contracts function between the SHL and NHL, Pettersson can make the jump to North America at any time upon signing an ELC with the Ducks organization. He will have several options when it comes to where he will play in 2025-26.
“I think right now it’s physical stuff,” Pettersson said when asked what he felt he needed to work on before adjusting to North American Hockey. “Getting bigger and stronger while playing against bigger guys. Working in tight spaces and situations where you don’t have as much time.”
Lucas Pettersson is listed at 5-foot-11 and 179 pounds.
The likeliest destination for Pettersson in 2025-26 will be with MoDo in the SHL, provided they avoid relegation. They currently sit in 12th of 14 teams. At the end of each season, the 13th and 14th place teams in the SHL play a best-of-seven series with the losing team relegated to HockeyAllsvenskan.
If MoDo is relegated, there’s a chance (barring the Ducks offering an ELC) that Pettersson makes the transition to North America to play with the San Diego Gulls in the AHL or even with the Ducks in the NHL.
The Anaheim Ducks’ “home-run” swing at the top of the second round of the 2024 Draft is yielding positive returns with Pettersson’s recent play in Sweden’s second division.
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