I hope Sharks send him back. remember when they rushed their D-man from 2013, forgot his name....
C/LW William Eklund - San Jose Sharks, NHL (2021, 7th, SJS)
- Thread starter theslatcher
- Start date
Our Lady Peace
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Makoshark
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The SHL is atleast as good as the AHL, probably a little better even, so he should be. I'm already annoyed Djurgården hasn't got a clear answer, so if they send him down and decide it's not to the SHL I'm gonna be super pissed
JAS 39 Gripen
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themelkman
Always Delivers
From my understanding he will be sent to the SHL if he doesnt make the NHL. My prediction is that he plays 9 and then goes to the SHL, but if he seriously impresses I dont see why he cant stick. Im all for not rushing guys but 1st and 2nd overalls almost always play NHL first year and Eklund likely shouldve been first or second overall anyways
FOurteenS inCisOr
FOS COrp CEO
...when hasn’t it been “a thing”?
Lots of jr age players eligible to play in the ahl and over age draftees aren’t ready for the AHL.
JAS 39 Gripen
Registered User
Its a development league, just like the SHL, KHL and the others, but actually worse. The only good thing with it is it’s small rink size.
Predatore
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- Feb 27, 2002
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Think he is mostly referring to that labelling a player as AHL ready when he has played professional hockey in a better league for 1,5 years is somewhat awkward. Would be another thing if he came straight out of Swedish juniors or similar.
The SHL and KHL is not development leauges. In the SHL and KHL the main goal is to win games, not develop NHL prospects. Of course though DIF is weak enough to have to have Eklund in thier top line
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OKR
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- Nov 18, 2015
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SHL is a development league in a sense that the best players leave as they hit their prime, just like most other european leagues.
It’s not like it’s their main focus, but they do realize that top players aren’t planing to spend their careers in there.
Lol you’re annoyed they haven’t gotten an answer? He was drafted to the Sharks. He’s played well enough to make it this far in training camp. His goal was to try to make the team out of camp this year as stated by him. His career will be in the NHL and not the SHL.
Yeah no shit I'm annoyed. Just give a clear cut answer before the season, either he's going over to stay or he's spending the entire season in Sweden, it's not that difficult.
I don’t think they even expect that. How could they? It was unknown how well he would do over here
I guess sometimes it could be discussions between a european team like DIF and a NHL team like SJ. If DIF want Eklund back, they maybe they have to use him as SJ wants, not sure how it works.
I mean in this case its not a problem, but sometimes prospects end up in the 4th line if they play in the SHL.
There is alwayws AHL. Now Djurgården is put in a limbo and can't really get a replacement until they know. And it's not like the NHL, they are actually risking relegation if they don't do good enough
In this case Djurgården has put time, effort and money into developing William, I don't think it is too much to ask for that a professional organisation like the Sharks could atleast show them the respect to make a decision in time for Djurgården to plan the season from the start. And I obviously think that goes for all teams in the NHL, that's why I was hoping Detroit would draft him, they're usually very respectful that way.
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JAS 39 Gripen
Registered User
I mean, yeah, that’s their official stance of course, but that’s not how it’s viewed by these youngsters - the SHL it’s a stepping stone to get to the NHL. The SHL and the KHL can be all “We’re the second best league in the world!” but the truth is that they’re just getting the scraps and are fighting for their lives to make new fans and re-brand themselves, especially the SHL. Russia is Russia, so the KHL will always have some patriotic, NA-hating peeps though
Still the purpose of the AHL is to jump when the NHL teams tells them to jump. SHL teams will use the players that can help them win games, even if they are called Joel Lundqvist, and totally uninteresting for NHL teams.
That’s all well and good, but he has a contract with San Jose. San Jose is literally paying him now. If they don’t want him back when the Sharks are ready to send him back then they like you said will just go AHL. Sharks need this time with him to see how good he is. It’s no different than a Canadian junior league waiting until the end of training camp to get their star player back, and they don’t know one way or the other if they’re coming back. That happens for every CHL club every year.
themelkman
Always Delivers
Yeah im sure it sucks if your a person wanting your swedish team to do well, but NHL teams arent worried about what you want. If Eklund goes back its because the sharks think it will help him become a better player for them, not to help the swedish team.
I agree with Detroit working with Swedish clubs on their prospects. They usually prefer their prospects spend at least a year developing in the SHL after the NHL draft before giving them a chance in the NHL. That year of development is pretty huge as they get to play top line minutes and work on their game.
They also have former Redwings defenceman Niklas Kronwall acting as a developmental coach in Sweden while playing with their respective teams in Sweden working with them after their team practice is over. My guess is the Redwings depend on Kronwall and their other Swedish scouts to assess if each prospect is ready to make the jump.
They have always a had a good relationship with Swedish clubs and have never tried to hang on to their prospects in training camp especially since the SHL season starts a lot earlier than that of the NHL which provides them the opportunity to earn top line minutes and gain playing experience in the SHL.
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JAS 39 Gripen
Registered User
Djurgården will get their share of the profit though. Utbildningsersättningsstegen exists for these situations. If the SHL changes to smaller ice rinks, NHL teams would more likely let players develop at home, but there’s still the distance thingy - much easier to follow your prospects progress if they’re in the same time zone
theslatcher
Registered User
Should just change rink size already, it will happen in the future as the hockey world is going that route, so why not now?
JAS 39 Gripen
Registered User
SHL GMs and the SHL office think that people like the big size rinks more and they think it’s a better product. Not many agrees with that (think it’s mostly a cost issue)
