The Anaheim Ducks announced on Friday that they had signed center Lucas Pettersson to a three-year entry-level contract.

Pettersson (19) was selected in the second round (35th overall in 2024) of last year’s NHL Entry Draft.

He bounced around three separate divisions of hockey in Sweden throughout the 2024-25 season. Under contract with MoDo Hockey, he began the season between the SHL and J-20 Nationell, and spent significant stretches of games with Ostersunds IK in HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-tier professional division.

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Pettersson finished the season with eight points (4-4=8) in eight games at the J-20 level, 19 points (9-10=19) in 26 games at the HockeyAllsvenskan level, and one point (0-1=1) in 29 games at the SHL level.

“You spend three months playing four minutes a night, it’s tough to show what you can do,” Ducks assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting Martin Madden told The Hockey News when asked about Pettersson’s season. “It affects your confidence, and clearly, his confidence was affected by that until he got enough games in a row at a lower level, where he showed that his offensive game was still there, his speed was still there, and his ability to score goals was still there. He just needed to play enough that he understood that level of competition and what he needed to do to have success there.”

After representing Sweden at the 2024 World Junior Summer Showcase, he didn’t make the roster for Sweden’s World Junior Championship team in Dec./Jan.

"He wasn’t given the chance to make the Team Sweden roster, as far as I’m concerned,” Madden said. “He looked really good in the summer when they had their tryouts in the US. He looked like he belonged, for sure.”

In May, Brynas IF of the SHL announced they’d signed Pettersson to a two-year contract. Pettersson will play the 2025-26 season with Brynas, alongside former long-time Anaheim Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg. Silfverberg won the SHL regular season MVP, Swedish Gentleman of the Year (Rinkens Riddare), and Arets schysstaste spelare (the SHL’s version or the Lady Bing). Pettersson will likely be better insulated at Brynas, and he’ll have more professional experience under his belt.

“I think he found a good fit for himself. I think he’s going to be really well surrounded in Brynas. It will be in the SHL, so he will need to earn his ice time, but I think he’s better prepared for it now,” Madden said, looking ahead to Pettersson’s 2025-26. “He’s had to deal with that tough first year, where you’re not physically the strongest kid, yet. Now he’s got a full summer without all the pre-draft stuff you have to deal with heading into the draft.

“So now he’s got a full, long summer to hit the gym, to work himself into the type of shape to deal with men in the SHL next year. I think he’s in a good spot, and I think he’s going to be well surrounded by guys like Silfverberg, for sure.”

Coming into his draft year and continuing through today, Pettersson has drawn comparisons to successful two-way Swedish centers like Mikael Backlund, Joel Eriksson Ek, and William Karlsson. He’s a detail-oriented, powerful yet shifty skating, cerebral two-way center who can contribute at 5v5, on the power play, and on the penalty kill.

“I think he’s really smart both ways. He’s got enough skill and speed to think that he will produce at the pro level, at the NHL level,” Madden concluded. “He’s really, really smart. When you play that way, you need to be strong enough to play that way against men. He just wasn’t there yet last year.”

As stated, Pettersson is slated to play the 2025-26 season in the SHL with Brynas IF. It’s unclear if he will make the transition to North America for the 206-27 season. It’s also unclear if he will attend Ducks development camp in July or rookie/training camp in Sept.

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