He played with the Swedish national team on several occasions and was a member of gold and bronze medal winning squads at the World Hockey Championship.

A native of Gothenburg, Sweden, Pettersson played junior hockey in his hometown for Frölunda HC's Under-18 and J20 SuperElit teams between 2002 and 2005.

[2] He improved to 50 points in 2006–07,[2] but after the Oilers declined to sign him to an NHL contract, Pettersson returned to Sweden to begin his professional career.

He caught the attention of the Atlanta Thrashers, who convinced Pettersson to return to North America and take a second chance at making the NHL and signed him to a contract.

[6] He failed to make the Thrashers' roster, and was assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Chicago Wolves for the 2010–11 season.

[8] He started the 2016-17 season with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the Kontinental Hockey League and transferred to fellow KHL side Dinamo Minsk in December 2016.