With the 198th pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers select Jesper Pettersson, a 19-year-old defenseman from Linkoping of the Swedish Hockey League. It’s their final pick of the 2014 Draft.
He’s just 5’9, which is …. very tiny, especially for a defenseman. He weighs in at 183, and Elite Prospects says that he plays much bigger than his size. He’s primarily a defensive guy, which is also surprising given his size. But he’s played in the SHL for parts of two seasons now, and that’s a league where he’s playing against men, so that should assuage some of the fears about his size.
He had a role in this brawl against Russia during the U20 tournament last year. And by role we mean he left the dang penalty box to participate.
