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

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Surprised this hasn't been posted:



Eklund is going over to San Jose. Will probably sign ELC tomorrow. Still doesn't seem to be decided where he will play but I guess this would be an indication that he's headed to NA.

Weird situation. Djurgården coach found out from journalists after first preseason game yesterday.

Barry Smith (Djurgården coach)
" - What, what are you saying? No one told me. That can't be right. He is going to be with us. I will have to talk with William. The best thing for him is to play with us the coming season and get a lot of icetime. I've talked to San Jose GM Doug Wilson and told him how I see William."

Eklund:
"- Yes that's correct. I will have to tell Barry too. Was a bit quickly decided and I leave sunday morning and land at lunchtime in California."

Oh snap! That's super fast. Is Eklund going to be the lone kid from the top 10 in this year's draft to be in the NHL?

EDIT: Also, shouldn't the Sharks be cleaning house before they consider bringing a kid into this crazy NHL world?

 

[wetcoast]

Oh snap! That's super fast. Is Eklund going to be the lone kid from the top 10 in this year's draft to be in the NHL?

EDIT: Also, shouldn't the Sharks be cleaning house before they consider bringing a kid into this crazy NHL world?

San Jose has their AHL team right in their back yard and William did very well in the SHL last year, nothing wrong if he is ready to come over.

 

[bsu]

This Ducks fan is pissed still.

 

[Sharksrule04]

I would absolutely prefer if he isn’t rushed to the NHL. Think I would also prefer he play in Sweden for another year over the AHL.

 

[Barry Amsterdam]

This Ducks fan is pissed still.

this wings fan is with ya

 

[Used As A Shield]

Thought he was just coming over for the rookie scrimmage

 

[Ronnie Residue]

Hopefully he plays in Sweden for one more year. I’m really high on him but I don’t see why we’d rush him. He isn’t going to make us a contender, and with our shady ass locker room I’d rather keep him in a healthy situation.

 

[Prntscrn]

Thought he was just coming over for the rookie scrimmage

Hopefully, but stupid to interupt his own preseason then. Maybe someone else will take advantage and take that first line LW position while he's gone

 

[Kcoyote3]

Oh snap! That's super fast. Is Eklund going to be the lone kid from the top 10 in this year's draft to be in the NHL?

EDIT: Also, shouldn't the Sharks be cleaning house before they consider bringing a kid into this crazy NHL world?

Nah, there's not a way to clean house and the Sharks need to evaluate their talent, in person, real time. No preseason or training camp really last year, barely any in person scouting for 18 months, if I'm DW I'm getting everyone I can on the ice in SJ

 

[ZEBROA]

Stupid william...

 

[themelkman]

He can still play in sweden. Sharks will just loan him back once training camp is over. Sharks dont care about if the SHL team wants him for preseason games, its good for him to get some NA experience and meet some of the guys even if hes headed back to europe for the main season.

 

[VictorLustig]

I don't see the point of bringing him over just for camp. It'll just screw up his preseason. Bring him over when he can contribute to the team, like Vancouver did with Pettersson.

 

[CupfortheSharks]

The Sharks are having a development camp for prospects starting tomorrow through the 19th. Why wouldn’t they want Eklund there?

 

[91Fedorov91]

 

[Stewie Griffin]

I wanted him back in Sweden but wouldn't mind the AHL. Gives him a chance to come up very quickly and easily....and I think he's close to NHL ready

 

[Kcoyote3]

The Sharks are having a development camp for prospects starting tomorrow through the 19th. Why wouldn’t they want Eklund there?

Because people like to criticize the Sharks

 

[Love]

I see him as the Sharks next star player. He’s an elite prospect in my eyes.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He can still play in sweden. Sharks will just loan him back once training camp is over. Sharks dont care about if the SHL team wants him for preseason games, its good for him to get some NA experience and meet some of the guys even if hes headed back to europe for the main season.

He'll also miss regular season games.

These loans that take place after training camp often lead to mediocre seasons. You are unsettling these players to put them in a situation where they don't know what continent they will be playing hockey on. Teams should make a decision before the season, and stick with it. The player will benefit a lot more from a good full season than meeting some players who may never be his teammates and experiencing a new culture. That stuff can be done later on.

 

[majormajor]

The Sharks are having a development camp for prospects starting tomorrow through the 19th. Why wouldn’t they want Eklund there?

His presence at devo camp isn't what is being debated, it's him at training camp.

 

[majormajor]

Eklund at Sharks training camp isn't surprising to me.

He's a remarkably developed prospect for his age and the Sharks are not a team that focuses on long term development anyways. I don't think they're thinking about just getting him some training camp experience and then sending him back to Sweden, or sending him anywhere. They're hoping he'll do well and make the Sharks and help their team. And he might do that. He's a good player. I'm not so sure with him that it would hurt him to play in the NHL. He's so well developed mentally that he might not miss on any upside by starting early.

 

[mratch19]

The interesting thing about Eklund and why I think he's so close to NHL ready is his anticipation of the play. Every time I watch him he is a couple steps ahead on puck retrieval and positioning . He reminds me a bit of both Aho and Pettersson pre-draft.

 

[Pavels Dog]

The interesting thing about Eklund and why I think he's so close to NHL ready is his anticipation of the play.

I think he's relatively close as well, but not this year. He had a very up-and-down season with injuries and covid. I think he could really benefit from the full SHL season, World Juniors, getting reps with Men's national team, maybe even an outside shot at olympic team (which I think is minimal chance if he goes to NA).

 

[theslatcher]

I think he's relatively close as well, but not this year. He had a very up-and-down season with injuries and covid. I think he could really benefit from the full SHL season, World Juniors, getting reps with Men's national team, maybe even an outside shot at olympic team (which I think is minimal chance if he goes to NA).

Injuries?

 

[SwedeChristoffer]

Injuries?

He removed his appendix, I guess that could count as an injury, even though it didn't happen on the ice

 

[Pavels Dog]

He removed his appendix, I guess that could count as an injury, even though it didn't happen on the ice

Yeah that was what I was referring to, memory failed what his health issue was.