Andersson was born in Motala but grew up in Ljungby. His professional career began with the HockeyAllsvenskan team &lt;a href="IF%20Troja/Ljungby"&gt;IF Troja/Ljungby&lt;/a&gt;, his youth team, in the 2000–01 season. Showing great offensive skills, he was drafted in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks in the sixth round as 181st overall. He was then elected to the Swedish national junior team for the 2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.