C/LW William Eklund - San Jose Sharks, NHL (2021, 7th, SJS)

[nbducksfan19]

I'll put you down for a "yes" vote on Eklund for top 3.

He is in my top 3....will he be drafted there, who knows.

But, as evidenced by your odd statistic, there are many more players who were 5' 10 at the draft and not drafted top 3, but should have been.

 

[tomd]

He is in my top 3....will he be drafted there, who knows.

But, as evidenced by your odd statistic, there are many more players who were 5' 10 at the draft and not drafted top 3, but should have been.

I'll put you down as a "maybe" for Eklund to be drafted in the top 3.

 

[sasha barkov]

Yup. the same playoffs when Nylander, Ehlers, Yamamoto, Kaprizov, Kevin Fiala, Mikael Granlund disappeared. but yea if you didn't watch the playoffs maybe don't comment.

notice how you only name smaller players that aren't as good as the other poster posted and also didn;t go far in the playoffs

 

[nmburkholder]

What kind of production do you think he’ll be at the NHL 20g-40a type guy?

 

[Kalv]

What kind of production do you think he’ll be at the NHL 20g-40a type guy?

He looks like someone that could push PPG pace for some seasons. I think if all goes well he will have a Kaprizov-like impact

 

[Satanphonehome]

He’s the best player available and going first overall

 

[VictorLustig]

What kind of production do you think he’ll be at the NHL 20g-40a type guy?

Production depends so much on environment. Gabriel Landeskog is an 80 point player in Colorado but perhaps half of that in Buffalo. That could be Eklund's range as well.

 

[Number1RedWingsFan52]

What kind of production do you think he’ll be at the NHL 20g-40a type guy?

That's minimal, He's easily a PPG player at the NHL level.

 

[TheWayToRefJose]

its not easy unless they are fiesty like Marchand, Point, Barzal, Beauvillier, Konecny

the biggest question for me when it comes to smallish players is.... After they take a beating physically/hard bodychecks etc

are they able to bounce back? Do they know how to avoid getting blasted? Avoid injuries?

Mentally... are they strong enough to brush it off? and focus on the next shift

Joe Pavelski has made a career off getting throttled in the slot and just played at a 37 goal/82 game season at the young age of 36 years old.

 

[majormajor]

What kind of production do you think he’ll be at the NHL 20g-40a type guy?

I was thinking 25G 35A at peak. I don't see the super-elite playmaking ability where you can project 45-50 assists. I like Eklund a lot but more in a crafty all-around sense. He reminds me more of Gus Nyquist than any Kaprizov-level talent.

 

[bsu]

I was thinking 25G 35A at peak. I don't see the super-elite playmaking ability where you can project 45-50 assists. I like Eklund a lot but more in a crafty all-around sense. He reminds me more of Gus Nyquist than any Kaprizov-level talent.

He is literally the best playmaker in the entire draft.

 

[majormajor]

He is literally the best playmaker in the entire draft.

In most drafts that would be really something. Not this year.

 

[bsu]

In most drafts that would be really something. Not this year.

Out of the hundreds and hundreds of kids eligible for this draft he's arguably the best playmaker out of them you don't think that's something? Alright then.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Out of the hundreds and hundreds of kids eligible for this draft he's arguably the best playmaker out of them you don't think that's something? Alright then.

Who is the best playmaker from the 2012 draft? Sometimes drafts just don’t have first line playmaking talent in them. I know you’re a huge Eklund guy and I respect that, but I think 25-35 is a pretty reasonable projection for him.

 

[EichHart]

Who is the best playmaker from the 2012 draft? Sometimes drafts just don’t have first line playmaking talent in them. I know you’re a huge Eklund guy and I respect that, but I think 25-35 is a pretty reasonable projection for him.

Wasn't Eklunds numbers better than backstrom were draft year? That's certainly something.

 

[majormajor]

Who is the best playmaker from the 2012 draft? Sometimes drafts just don’t have first line playmaking talent in them.

Maybe Teravainen.

But at the time people maybe would have said someone like Galchenyuk.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Wasn't Eklunds numbers better than backstrom were draft year? That's certainly something.

It’s been fifteen years since Backstrom played in the SHL. Things have changed a lot. People said Elias Lindholm would be better than Backstrom because of his numbers, but Lindholm has never come close to how good Backstrom has been.

Maybe Teravainen.

But at the time people maybe would have said someone like Galchenyuk.

That’s exactly my point. This isn’t a draft filled with high-end playmakers, so Eklund being “arguably the best playmaker” in the 2021 draft doesn’t mean he’s going to be Joe Thornton, or even a regular 40 assist guy.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

It’s been fifteen years since Backstrom played in the SHL. Things have changed a lot. People said Elias Lindholm would be better than Backstrom because of his numbers, but Lindholm has never come close to how good Backstrom has been.



That’s exactly my point. This isn’t a draft filled with high-end playmakers, so Eklund being “arguably the best playmaker” in the 2021 draft doesn’t mean he’s going to be Joe Thornton, or even a regular 40 assist guy.

Lindholm isn't far off from Backstrom. He also doesn't have the benefit of playing in a high octane offensive system with Alex Semin, Ovechkin, Mike Green, John, Carlsson, TJ Oshie, Kuznetzov, etc. Lindholm is a legit first liner that would probably score more on a team other than Calgary.

And back to Eklund, it's difficult to say how much he'll score because I think that will be impacted by whichever team he plays on. I think Eklund could go anywhere from 1 to 7, depending on how some of the GMs are thinking on draft day, but on 3 of the teams I can see him reasonably becoming a 0.8 point per game guy or better. On the other 3 I can see Eklund struggling to get above 0.5 points per game. Seattle is kind of a wild card in this group because we don't know what their roster is yet but I'd bet that they will have more firepower than the teams that finished bottom 6 in the NHL this year.

 

[Osakahaus]

He is literally the best playmaker in the entire draft.

i'd argue K.Johnson is better, but he is gonna need more years to keep improving that potential

 

[GunnarStahl]

He is literally the best playmaker in the entire draft.

I think I’d argue Beniers is a slightly better playmaker, but yeah Eklunds playmaking shouldn’t be slept on, he has great skills in that regard

 

[BloFan4Life]

I think I’d argue Beniers is a slightly better playmaker, but yeah Eklunds playmaking shouldn’t be slept on, he has great skills in that regard

Nope, not even close. Eklund is twice the playmaker as Beniers.

I really think the WJC may cost Eklund going first overall. He would have been great there.

 

[bsu]

I think I’d argue Beniers is a slightly better playmaker, but yeah Eklunds playmaking shouldn’t be slept on, he has great skills in that regard

Not even close.

 

[405Entrance]

I’m

Nope, not even close. Eklund is twice the playmaker as Beniers.

I really think the WJC may cost Eklund going first overall. He would have been great there.

glad he didn’t go tbh. Now the ducks have a shot at him where id he did go no way he gets past Seattle

 

[theslatcher]

Found this bit interesting in the McKenzie rankings:

In terms of overall offensive impact — scoring, making plays, quickness, agility, hunting and battling for pucks in the offensive zone — he is in the conversation for highest ceiling.

When a lot try and downplay his ceiling.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

That's minimal, He's easily a PPG player at the NHL level.

No prospect in the world is “easily a PPG player in the NHL..”

Much less Eklund

Jesus, people might want to lower expectations on these kids.