2023 FlamesNation prospect rankings: #20 Emilio Pettersen
11 months ago
Emilio Petterson took a bit of a tumble in the site’s prospect rankings this year. Last summer, the FlamesNation team had him listed at 14th. This year, he just cracks the rankings at number 20 of a possible 20. Pettersen has been in the Calgary Flames’ AHL rotation for three complete seasons now and his drop in rankings is likely due to his hot and cold season and his placement in the list of possible NHL call-ups.
Emilio Pettersen
Left wing
Born April 3, 2000 (23 years old) in Manglerud, Norway
5’10”, 185 lbs
Drafted in the sixth round (167th overall) by Calgary in 2018
Performance-wise, Pettersen had his best year of his professional career last year with 19 goals and 25 assists for a total of 44 points. He played in 61 games and didn’t miss time due to injury, but due to being healthy scratched here and there. This was Mitch Love’s way of motivating him and some of the other young players on the team. He rolled with a philosophy of effort over talent and if they weren’t playing to their full potential, they wouldn’t make it to the ice. Especially with depth on their side and other forwards looking to earn their fair shot.
The healthy scratches unfortunately carried over into post-season play where he was not performing at a level that they could keep him in the lineup. He played in the first Abbotsford game then had a spectator view for the rest of the series. He did earn another chance in their Coachella Valley series, however.
He earned an assist on his first playoff game back in the lineup and got into the next three games. With no points in that stretch, he was back on the bench by the last game of the series and the last game of the season. Pettersen’s playoff scoring rating was very low at 17th on the team. Not what this team needed out of Emilio to be a Calder Cup contender.
The reason for Pettersen’s missed time and the consideration for his prospect ranking is potential. Pettersen has shown time and time again in his AHL stint that he is capable of being one of the best guys on the ice. However, he can’t do that for an entire stretch of games, let alone a whole season. I also think the general view is Pettersen continues to fall deeper down the list of potential call-ups and we’re starting to wonder if we will ever see him make that jump with the Flames.
Taking potential out of the equation, Pettersen is a great depth guy to have in your lineup. You can rely on him to put up points here and there and he is still young enough to help transition rookies with his transition still fresh in his mind. He’s a player that will find ways to help the team and can be very hard to play against at times.
Expectations for 2023-24
Next season I’d like to see Pettersen own the second line. He might not have earned a spot on the top line yet but his position should not waver, especially down the lineup. He had some time on a rotation of linemates like Cole Schwindt, Connor Zary and, Ben Jones and running with that type of system again next year is not a bad idea by any means. They have all shown their capabilities in small stretches of games and all three could benefit from figuring out their roles that help make their line more successful and cohesive. Not all three need to be the goal-scorers all the time. With Phillips gone, Zary could become a regular first-liner and may not spend a lot of time playing with Pettersen.
At this point, Emilio Pettersen has seen what it takes to make the jump up to the NHL through the efforts of his past and present teammates. He has also seen what type of team dynamic and chemistry works with a group similar to who is returning. I’d like to see him step up on and off the ice to be a scoring leader and a locker room leader. He landed in the top five for regular season scoring so if he continues his improvement trend, he will be doing pretty well for himself. His biggest competition at this point in his career, is himself.
Emilio signed a one-year, two-way contract extension in early July. He will be back with the Calgary Wranglers this fall for his fourth pro season and his fourth year with a Flames-affiliated team.
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