LW Victor Eklund - Djurgårdens IF J18, SWE JRs (2025 Draft)

[hockeyprospects9]

The better Eklund

 

[Prntscrn]

Hattrick tonight and an incredibly dominant third + OT. Highlight plays that should be from a 10 game stretch or something lol

Goals at 1:36, 2:21 and 2:43

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

The better Eklund

How high could you see him being picked in the draft?

 

[hockeyprospects9]

How high could you see him being picked in the draft?

Around 5-7th overall is a possibility if he keeps being this good.

 

[Prntscrn]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1850900335272816990

 

[Stewie Griffin]

Skates the exact same as his brother, it's weird lol.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Skates the exact same as his brother, it's weird lol.

Almost like probably the same people taught him to skate, he has the same genetics as William, and he trained with William growing up.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Almost like probably the same people taught him to skate, he has the same genetics as William, and he trained with William growing up.

Didn't work for Luke Tuch.

 

[Hammer Slammer]

 

[Eye of Ra]

Almost like probably the same people taught him to skate, he has the same genetics as William, and he trained with William growing up.

Its his dad, former grinder Christian Eklund

 

[Casper The Soy Ghost]

13 points (8+5) in 15 games played, looks amazing so far.

Edit: someone should change the title. He plays for the men's team now, not J18.

 

[Sacha BOXviert]

William 22yo 5'11
Viktor 18yo 5'11

 

[BKarchitect]

He’s got to be in that top group after the Big 3 somewhere at this point.

This is not an easy league for U19 players to put up numbers in. His current pace puts him in the same group of 18 year-old seasons as:

William Karlsson (draft+1 year)
Willian Nylander (draft year)
Filip Forsberg (draft+1 year)
Elias Pettersson (draft year)

Given that we’ve seen William Eklund already become a really good NHL player despite his slight size with a very similar set of skills - I think Viktor also gets a bit of a pass for being “slight” in terms of projection that we won’t give to a lot of other smallish skilled players. So I think there is a tangible floor here which is high and some upside excitement that he may be a bit of a William “+”, potentially.

I don’t think it’s impossible for Eklund to be as high as 4 right now, as things stand. Frondell is still getting back to speed (not to mention is by birthdate a year behind Eklund) and by February this may seem a foolish statement but at the moment - he’s in the same organization and seems miles behind. Schaefer also is still just getting back from injury. Ryabkin has had a stuttering start along with some murky questions about how he is being used. McQueen has had a good start but like Eklund is a late birthday…he’s got the size and power projection but I think what Eklund is doing is more impressive.

 

[mattihp]

Minifimpen is so boring, why not just go with Fimpfimpen

 

[MichaelFarrell]

Lists keep putting Frondell over Eklund and I don’t totally think that’s fair at this point. Eklund has looked great. To me, Eklund has positioned himself into the top 5 conversation.

 

[Casper The Soy Ghost]

I'm honestly surprised that this thread is so "dead". Eklund looks amazing playing against men.

Victor Eklund - Stats, Contract, Salary & More

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Victor Eklund, 2006-10-03 Stockholm, SWE Sweden. Most recently in the HockeyAllsvenskan with Djurgårdens IF. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

Lists keep putting Frondell over Eklund and I don’t totally think that’s fair at this point. Eklund has looked great. To me, Eklund has positioned himself into the top 5 conversation.

Same.

 

[Briser la glace]

+1

 

[MichaelFarrell]

I'm honestly surprised that this thread is so "dead". Eklund looks amazing playing against men.

Victor Eklund - Stats, Contract, Salary & More

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Victor Eklund, 2006-10-03 Stockholm, SWE Sweden. Most recently in the HockeyAllsvenskan with Djurgårdens IF. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

Same.

It’ll pick up after he WJC if he makes the team. I’m working on my write up for Eklund. I currently have him ranked pretty firmly at 5. I couldn’t really see him fall much further than that on my list. Solid player all around. Could probably see him in the NHL in the 2026-27 season depending on what team drafts him.

 

[Sacha BOXviert]

Lists keep putting Frondell over Eklund and I don’t totally think that’s fair at this point. Eklund has looked great. To me, Eklund has positioned himself into the top 5 conversation.

NHL teams love the traits of players like Frondell. It's easy, potential

 

[Intangir]

Lists keep putting Frondell over Eklund and I don’t totally think that’s fair at this point. Eklund has looked great. To me, Eklund has positioned himself into the top 5 conversation.

I've watched Frondell a lot, and I absolutely love the way he plays, how he NEVER sacrifices defense for offense and supports the play in all 3 zones.

Then we start delving into Frondell's tools, and there again he impresses.

Frondell's got good size and skating ability, A+ work ethic, fares very well in puck-battles and on the boards, boasts impressive hands in-tight as well as nice defender-manipulation skills, passes well, anticipates the play at a high level, generally shoots well, can be a primary puck-rusher if needed but will also be successful with less puck-touches and more puck-support.

And when it comes to defense I'd say that Frondell has probably one of the most well-developped defensive games I've seen in many years for centers in their draft years; off the top of my head I'd say probably since Hischier in 2017.

Basically, Frondell has such a solid all-around game that he can be successful in many different ways in the NHL and that, alongside his elite defense and playing the center position, is why he is (IMO deservedly) ranked higher in lists than Eklund.

Frondell with better health and a bit more elite tools offensively would IMO be #1 OA material right now, ahead of Schaefer, Misa, Hagens, and Martone (in that order currently, might change again for me as I flip-flop a lot depending on my viewings).

Don't get me wrong though, I love Eklund's game and have him top 10 (#8 actually). Just, I don't think he's dynamic enough to beat-out Frondell, Desnoyers, and McQueen (5, 6, 7 on my list right now) after the pretty-set top 4.