Marcus Pettersson

Marcus Pettersson has earned a reputation in the NHL for dependable defensive playArticle in HockeynewsRead the sourceArticle in HockeysverigeRead the sourceArticle in SportbladetRead the sourceClose. Marcus PetterssonArticle in Pittsburgh PenguinsRead the sourceArticle in TV4Read the sourceClose grew up in Skellefteå playing hockey, soccer and basketball at school, with Skellefteå AIK as his formative hockey club. According to the Penguins’ 2023/24Article in Pittsburgh PenguinsRead the sourceClose media guide, he received his first skates at age 4 and began organized hockey a few years later. His father, Daniel PetterssonArticle in Pittsburgh PenguinsRead the sourceClose, played professional hockey in Sweden, and the same guide names Peter Forsberg as Marcus’s childhood idol.

On JanuaryArticle in Sveriges Radio P4 ÖstergötlandRead the sourceClose 27, 2015, Pettersson played his first game for Vita Hästen after joining on loan from Skellefteå. Following the overtime win, he praised his new group of teammates in an interview with P4 ÖstergötlandArticle in Sveriges Radio P4 ÖstergötlandRead the sourceClose. His training also extended beyond hockey: the Penguins’ 2023/24Article in Pittsburgh PenguinsRead the sourceClose media guide describes him as a trained carpenter.

School basketball resurfaced in the story Pettersson told about his Dragon nickname during a media availability in February 2025Article in CanucksArmyRead the sourceClose. He recalled that his middle-school PE teacher had called him the Dragon when he played basketballArticle in CanucksArmyRead the sourceClose. Anaheim assistant coach Trent Yawney liked the story and began using the nickname in hockeyArticle in CanucksArmyRead the sourceClose.

In a joint interview with the Penguins in April 2022Article in Pittsburgh PenguinsRead the sourceClose, Pettersson and Rickard Rakell discussed playing golf and paddle tennis together. Pettersson had also invited Rakell to stay with him in PittsburghArticle in Pittsburgh PenguinsRead the sourceClose.

Soccer also featured among the interests he discussed in an August 2023 interview with the Penguins, when he mentioned the soccer podcast When We Were KingsArticle in Pittsburgh PenguinsRead the sourceClose. In the same interview, he spoke about his interest in science fiction and fantasy and his fondness for Swedish cinnamon bunsArticle in Pittsburgh PenguinsRead the sourceClose.