Pho - where do you have Lias Andersson? I'd like to know what you see in Pettersson as I have him further down my list.
Whoops, meant to put this all in the draft thread.
I've got Andersson at 15th but could see him rising for sure. Pettersson is currently 3rd on my list, so he probably doesn't have anywhere to go but down.
I like Andersson's game a lot. Hard-nosed forechecker who is a real pain in the ass to play against. The knock on him for me is that I haven't seen enough creativity or skill in his game to project him as more than a middle 6 tweener as a pro. At the very least, he'll be the sort of 3rd liner that every coach loves, a guy you can slot in at any position and use to kill penalties and who can still chip in 35-40 points a year. I really like his versatility, and I think there might be more than meets the eye with his offense, too. If he has 30 goal potential, he's a top 10 pick for sure with everything else he brings to the table. I'm just not sure whether he's not more of an Andrew Cogliano type.
Pettersson is a rawer player for sure, and he needs to add a lot of strength before he can compete at the NHL level, but in addition to being the more skilled and creative center of the two, I think he has the superior hockey IQ by a decent margin (which is saying something, as Andersson is a smart player himself). I see him as more of a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins type player: ideally not playing above your second line at even strength, but responsible in all three zones, useful on the powerplay, and a terrific playmaker.
That all said, though I have Pettersson ranked highly, I don't think he's a great fit for the Coyotes' pool. His greatest skills—hockey sense, playmaking and puck skill—are already well represented in Domi, Strome, Keller, et al., and the things we're missing—elite finishing skills, namely—aren't really there. Hischier, Mittelstadt, Tippett, Tolvanen, Patrick, and even Vilardi are better shooters, and this team is dying for a real triggerman. I try to do my rankings in a vacuum, though, so he's at #3 for me.