The Vancouver Canucks already have three Petterssons on their roster — two of them with the first name Elias — but they could always use a few more.
The Canucks drafted two different Elias Petterssons and then added Marcus Pettersson via trade this past season, and the three Petterssons form a key part of the team’s core: a franchise forward, a top-four defenceman, and a young prospect who successfully made the jump to the NHL at 20 years of age.
At the NHL Entry Draft, the Canucks have a good track record with Petterssons. Whatever you might think about Elias “OG” Pettersson after his struggles this past season, he still leads all players from the 2017 draft in points, which is pretty good for a fifth-overall pick. As for Elias “Junior” Pettersson, he’s the only player from the third round of the 2023 draft to have played more than one game in the NHL. He’s looking like an absolute steal.
So, when it comes to drafting Petterssons, the Canucks are two-for-two: a 100 per cent hit rate.
Should the Canucks delve into the scouting process that led to making those picks? Nah. Clearly, the answer is to draft more Petterssons.
Fortunately, there are many, many Petterssons eligible for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft that the Canucks could draft. One of them might even be a legitimate prospect.
So, let’s look at a few Petterssons the Canucks could pick.
Liam Pettersson - LHD
Liam Pettersson is the top Pettersson available in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. The 6’2”, left-shot defenceman has excellent mobility and some offensive upside, with 21 points in 39 games in Sweden’s J20 Nationell league for the Växjö Lakers.
Pettersson was good enough to get on the Lakers’ SHL roster for five games as an 18-year-old, which is always a good sign for a draft-eligible defenceman.
NHL Central Scouting has Pettersson ranked 28th among European skaters, which would project him to be a third-round pick. If the Canucks took him there, that would give them three left-shot Petterssons on defence, which is infinitely more than any other NHL team.
Ludvig Pettersson - RHD
Having so many Petterssons can cause some problems on the backs of jerseys, forcing the Canucks to put first initials for Marcus and the second Elias. If the Canucks draft Liam Pettersson, they can just put “L” in front of Pettersson and they’re all set.
But what if the Canucks also draft Liam’s Växjö Lakers teammate, Ludvig Pettersson?
The second L. Pettersson from the Lakers is a 6’2”, right-shot defenceman, with a physical defensive game, potentially making him a complementary fit with the first L. Pettersson.
To be clear, this Pettersson isn’t ranked by anyone and played just ten games in the J20 Nationell — Sweden’s top junior league — and spent more time in the under-18 leagues, the J18 Region and J18 Nationell.
Still, the two Lakers defencemen present a chance to stock up on Petterssons on the blue line.
Hugo Pettersson - LW
While there are more first-time draft-eligible Petterssons out there, it’s a stretch to call them legitimate prospects, so we have to move to some re-entries.
Hugo Pettersson is a 20-year-old left wing, who is 6’0” and 192 lbs. He’s a two-way forward, who is strong on the forecheck and in battles along the boards, but he also has some playmaking skill and a heavy shot.
Pettersson was clearly too good for the J20 Nationell this past season, racking up 9 goals and 13 points in just 8 games for HV71. That earned him a promotion to the SHL, but they struggled to find ice time for the young forward, instead loaning him to Kalmar HC in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan.
Pettersson thrived with Kalmar, scoring 10 goals and 19 points in 28 games, which was nearly identical production to his fellow Pettersson, Lucas Pettersson, who was a second-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks last year.
Pettersson also spent some time with Sweden’s U20 team at international tournaments, putting up 6 points in 8 games.
Is Hugo worth a late-round pick? Well, probably not. But he’s someone worth keeping an eye on as a potential free agent signing out of Sweden in the future.
Melker Pettersson - LHD
Okay, we’re starting to have to reach for quality Petterssons here. Melker Pettersson has size on his side as a 6’4”, 209 lbs defenceman. The 19-year-old was the captain of the Växjö Lakers’ J20 Nationell team this past season, meaning he was teammates with both Liam and Ludvig Pettersson, echoing the Canucks with three Petterssons.
Melker Pettersson is more of a shutdown defenceman with limited upside, but he came alive in the relegation round to keep the Lakers in the J20 Nationell. He put up 7 points in the 8 games, helping to lead his team to a 5-2-1 record.
He also spent some time on loan with Alvesta SK in the third-tier HockeyEttan, where he showed he probably deserves a shot at the HockeyAllsvenkan or SHL, putting up 4 points in 3 games.
Rhys Pederson - LHD
Okay, we’ve run out of worthwhile Petterssons. But what if we switch up the spelling?
Rhys Pederson is an 18-year-old defenceman in his second year of draft eligibility. He’s a 6’4” defensive defenceman with good defensive instincts and flashes of skill, even if he had just 7 points in 57 WHL games with the Edmonton Oil Kings this past season.
Pederson went undrafted last year and didn’t improve on his points from his draft year, but he’s still quite young, and has the size and mobility to make him worth watching.
Doogan Pederson - LHD
If you don’t want to draft a guy named Doogan, then you shouldn’t be an NHL general manager.
Doogan Pederson’s dad, Denis Pederson, is actually a former Canuck, who played parts of three seasons in Vancouver around the turn of the century. He came from the New Jersey Devils along with Brendan Morrison as part of the Alexander Mogilny trade. Pederson went on to become a star in German hockey after his NHL career came to a close.
While his dad was a forward, Doogan Pederson became a defenceman. The local kid from Langley is a 6’3” defensive defenceman in his second year of draft eligibility, though he’s still just 18 years old and won’t turn 19 until after the draft.
Pederson put up 20 points in 65 games between the Prince Albert Raiders and Red Deer Rebels in the WHL, but is on his way to the Penticton Vees next season as part of the WHL expansion draft.
Pederson plays a solid defensive game but has the puckmoving ability have an impact on both ends of the ice. We’ll see if he gets more of an opportunity to put up points in Penticton.
Lukas Peterson - RHD
Okay, that’s a couple of Pedersons, but what about Petersons?
How about an offensive defenceman out of the USHL? Lukas Peterson is a 19-year-old defenceman who put up 44 points in 62 games for the Green Bay Gamblers, good for second in the USHL among defencemen.
Peterson is an exceptional skater, with a knack for activating in the offensive zone to create opportunities. He’s a power play quarterback with some legitimate upside, which he’ll be taking to the University of Maine in the NCAA.
Just ignore the minus-25. And the 5’10” stature. Call it room for improvement.
Henry Peterson - RHD
Here’s another Peterson and yes, he’s a right-shot defenceman heading to the NCAA, just like the other Peterson.
Henry Peterson is a 6’3” defenceman out of Minnesota high school hockey, who is taking a detour to the WHL next season before making his way to the University of St. Thomas. Peterson will play in the Canucks’ backyard next season, if that backyard was across the Strait of Georgia, as he’ll be playing for the Victoria Royals.
Peterson had 24 points in 27 games for Hermantown High last season, and it’s awfully difficult to know whether that’s good or bad because of the vast disparity in quality in high school hockey. It was third in scoring on his team, at least, and Hermantown has traditionally been a strong school.
Anyways, draft him before he blows up the WHL with the Victoria Royals, maybe?
Andreas Syversen Pettersen - LHD
Moving on from Petersons, let’s take a look at a Pettersen.
Andreas Syversen Pettersen represented Norway at the world under-18s and under-20s this past year. The 6’0” defenceman played his club hockey primarily for Lørenskog in Norway’s top men’s league, putting up 4 points in 38 games.
Last year, Pettersen broke the record for most points by an under-17 defenceman in the Norwegian men’s league, putting up 8 points in 22 games as a 16-year-old. He just turned 18, so is a first-time draft-eligible player.
Look, is he a legitimate prospect? Probably not. It’s pretty rare for a high-level prospect to come out of the Norwegian league, but maybe he’s a diamond in the rough. And his name is Pettersen, so you’ve got to at least take a look.
Ricards Petersons - LHD
We’ve got to extend our search even more. Let’s throw an “S” on the end of one of those alternate spellings of Pettersson to find ourselves a Latvian.
Ricards Petersons is a 6’1” defenceman, who spent last season in Latvia’s men’s league, putting up 11 points in 35 games, good for third among junior-aged defencemen in that league.
Tristan Petersen - LW
There are an awful lot of defencemen Petterssons, Pedersons, Petersons, Pettersens, and Petersonses, so how about one more forward to wrap things up, with yet another spelling of the name.
Tristan Petersen is an 18-year-old in his second year of draft eligibility. He’s a 6’4” power forward from Denmark, who played in both the J20 Nationell with the Malmö Redhawks and the BCHL with the Penticton Vees this past season.
The winger had 9 points in 17 games in the regular season for Penticton, and has chipped in 7 points in 13 playoff games so far. He also represented Denmark at the World Junior Division I tournament, putting up 2 points in 5 games to help Denmark earn a promotion back up to the top division for 2026.
So, there you have it: 11 different Petterssons and Pettersson-adjacent players the Canucks could draft in 2025.
Should they draft those players? No. But they could.
