This is the 12th story in a series of player profiles from the NHL's Scouting Combine in Buffalo, N.Y., focusing on potential second-round picks for the Penguins at 44th and 46th overall.
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- If the Penguins want to come away from the draft later this month with a reliable, 200-foot middle-six center, Lucas Pettersson might be their guy.
Pettersson, 18, is one of the top Swedish prospects available in this summer's draft, set to be held June 28-29 in Las Vegas. He's a 6-foot, 173-pound center from the Swedish club MoDo, and primarily played for MoDo's U20 junior affiliate this past season but also got his first taste of SHL action, allowing him the opportunity to play at the professional level against men.
"I'd say I'm a two-way center whose basis is how I see the ice, my hockey sense," Pettersson told me of his game at the NHL Scouting Combine earlier this month. "I use my skating a lot too, those are my biggest strengths."
Pettersson added that Golden Knights forward William Karlsson is his "role model," because of Karlsson's strong two-way play and skating. The prospects website Elite Prospects compared Pettersson more to the Flames Mikael Backlund, praising Pettersson's playmaking ability and saying that he "constantly keeps opponents guessing, working a sophisticated delay game to create space for himself and connect with trailing options. If the defenseman steps up, he explodes against their momentum and into soft ice for a scoring chance."
An Eastern Conference scout told Elite Prospects that Pettersson is "fast and skilled and he has the work ethic, too. He’s someone who will probably be able to play on an NHL second line in a pinch, but he’s better-suited to the third line. On a good team, he’s probably a third-liner who drives up the pace, uses his speed, and works hard. He’s got some ability with the puck, too.”
Pettersson led MoDo's U20 team and ranked 10th in the U20 league with 57 points (27 goals, 30 assists) in 44 games.
This goal early in the season was great. Pettersson set up his teammate Tobias Oskarsson for a fake lacrosse-style Michigan goal, Oskarsson left the puck behind the net, and Pettersson quickly swept in and took advantage:
MoDo's J20 squad just pulled off a fake Michigan goal vs. AIK. Tobias Oskarsson pretends to go for the Michigan but leaves the puck behind for Lucas Pettersson to pick up and score on the wraparound. That was sick #2024NHLDraft #J20Nationell pic.twitter.com/Ude7ozJkSL
— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) September 23, 2023
"I feel like it went well," Pettersson said of his season. "I had a big role, just helping me mature in my game."
Pettersson played just five games at the SHL level for MoDo, going scoreless with a minus-1 rating. But it was a valuable learning experience nonetheless.
"I think it went all right," he said. "I didn't have a lot of minutes, but it was a good challenge for sure against bigger, older guys."
Pettersson represented Sweden at the U18 World Junior Championship at the end of the season and tied for the team-lead in scoring, racking up three goals and five assists in seven games as Sweden went on to win bronze.
Lucas Pettersson showcases his speed and makes it 6-1 for Sweden from a quick counter-attack. It's his first point of the tournament. pic.twitter.com/FvbJURCzyU
— Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) April 27, 2024
I'm not sure which is nicer, the bardown snipe or the nasty celly.
— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) May 5, 2024
Lucas Pettersson (2024) mercifully opens the scoring in the bronze medal game with 10 minutes left in the 3rd period. pic.twitter.com/DxIny63z9j
Pettersson met with 28 teams at the combine, and confirmed to me that the Penguins were one of them. It's certainly conceivable that Pettersson hears his name called right around where the Penguins pick at 44th and 46th overall. The Elite Prospects, Flo Hockey and McKeen's Hockey ranking services all have Pettersson ranked 41st in this draft. Daily Faceoff has him right behind a 42nd, and Dobber Prospects ranks him 45th.
Whichever team picks Pettersson won't get him in North America anytime soon. In December 2023 Pettersson signed a deal with MoDo that will keep him there through the 2026-27 season. That's less than ideal, but it'll be a plus that Pettersson will have the opportunity to gain experience playing against grown men in a professional setting in the meantime. When he does come over, it's not unreasonable to expect that he may need less time at the AHL level than some junior or college players drafted in the same range would because of that experience.
Pettersson said his goal for the coming season was simple: "Take a spot on the SHL roster." He aims to put in a lot of work in the gym this summer to get bigger and stronger and add muscle to his 6-foot frame in order to give him the best chance to do that.
