Who is Elias Pettersson's brother? All we know about Canucks star's sibling and hockey star Emil

Emil Pettersson is the older brother of Vancouver Canucks alternate captain Elias Pettersson. Emil is also a professional ice hockey player. He was born on Jan. 14, 1994, to Irene Jonsson and Torbjorn Pettersson.

His grandfather on his father’s side, Toivo Jokelainen, was of Finnish descent and was moved to Sweden in 1941 as a war child.

Emil Pettersson’s hockey career

Emil Pettersson began his professional hockey career with Timra IK in Sweden’s premier league, the Elitserien (SHL), in the 2011-2013 season. He later joined Skelleftea AIK in 2016-17, participating in 24 games before switching to the Vaxjo Lakers, where he tallied 26 points in 27 games.

He then secured a two-year entry-level deal with the Nashville Predators of the NHL in May 2017. Yet his time was spent playing for their AHL partner, the Milwaukee Admirals, where he excelled in scoring and earned a spot in the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic.

Pettersson was then traded to the Arizona Coyotes but remained in the AHL with the Tucson Roadrunners.

Despite his success in the AHL, Emil did not have the opportunity to showcase his skills in the NHL. He split the 2018-19 season between the Predators' and the Coyotes' AHL clubs before returning to Sweden.

In an interview with NHL.com in February 2021, Emil said:

“My dream is still to play in the NHL. It is clear that I think it is a failure that I did not take a place in the NHL, and something I want to try again in the future.

“Everyone’s dream is to play in the NHL… I will try to give myself another chance to do so."

He then rejoined the Vaxjo Lakers and contributed to their championship win in 2020-21. He then spent a season with HC Spartak Moscow in the KHL, after which he signed a five-year contract to return to his original club, Timra IK, in April 2022.

Elias Pettersson shares his thoughts on playing with Emil

Elias Pettersson, in an interview with NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika in 2019, spoke about playing with Emil.

He said:

“Just using your imagination. I don’t remember doing certain drills. I was just skating, having fun. Growing up, that was the funniest thing I could do.”

The Vancouver Canucks recently have secured an eight-year contract extension with Elias Pettersson.