William Eklund

[Jargon]

Agreed! Every time I'll say "oh no...", because it's so predictable. Then more often than not, he actually pulls it off.


No arguments here. I'd say he's "good, but not great" at most aspects of the game. That's good enough for me. He's a likeable player that pays attention to the little details. He should be a huge part of our future.

Yeah I think the spin moves works because it’s so sharp and unpredictable and he does it on a dime. His timing is also impeccable and he almost always knows the exact moment to try it.

I’d say his elite talents are his playmaking, his hockey brain and his shiftiness. I still remember when people kept trying to destroy him with big checks and just smash into the wall.

His shot has gotten a lot better, I’m hopeful he’ll keep working on it (and as he continues to get stronger so will the shot).

I adore the player. He’s so likable and fun to watch.

 

[The Nemesis]

He's alright I guess.

Could probably learn a thing or two from Kunin.

 

[hohosaregood]

Lock him up with an 8x8 ASAP

 

[TheBigDrunkPanda]

Lock him up with an 8x8 ASAP

At 8x7

 

[CanadienShark]

Yeah I think the spin moves works because it’s so sharp and unpredictable and he does it on a dime. His timing is also impeccable and he almost always knows the exact moment to try it.

I’d say his elite talents are his playmaking, his hockey brain and his shiftiness. I still remember when people kept trying to destroy him with big checks and just smash into the wall.

His shot has gotten a lot better, I’m hopeful he’ll keep working on it (and as he continues to get stronger so will the shot).

I adore the player. He’s so likable and fun to watch.

Agreed. There's some grit to his game, which makes him especially fun too!

 

[OrrNumber4]

He unfortunately is getting discarded by some of the fanbase like in Toy Story. Hes not the shiny new toy anymore but he’s proving that he should’ve been drafted much higher

Hmm, he was already drafted 7th...

 

[Patty Ice]

I wish we could somehow draft his brother (with a second 1st round pick) only because, as they say, double the Eklund, double the fun.

An Eklund for each of our 2 boys.

 

[JoeThorntonsRooster]

He unfortunately is getting discarded by some of the fanbase like in Toy Story. Hes not the shiny new toy anymore but he’s proving that he should’ve been drafted much higher

Hmm, he was already drafted 7th...

It was a pretty bad draft class, with a decent number of solid contributors but no clear cut superstars and nobody who looks like they're going to get there.

Eklund is actually leading the draft class in scoring this season. IMO there are like 10 guys who could still end up being the best player from that draft class and he is one of them.

 

[Skeksis25]

Dude he is at a minimum of 65-70 this year barring any injury

You are responding to a year old post. Last year he finished with 45 points. Right as I was hoping.

 

[Juxtaposer]

It was a pretty bad draft class, with a decent number of solid contributors but no clear cut superstars and nobody who looks like they're going to get there.

Eklund is actually leading the draft class in scoring this season. IMO there are like 10 guys who could still end up being the best player from that draft class and he is one of them.

While it's tempting to say "there were no superstars, 2021 is a bad draft class", I think it's fascinating to recall that at the time, there was a clear-cut top-9 with almost no discernible order among them. Power and Beniers were seen as a half step above the rest, but it wouldn't have been unthinkable not to have them top-2. Three years later, and not a single one of that top-9 is a bust, and every single one of them looks like a top line winger, top-6 C, or top-3 defenseman. Beyond that, there's like, Wyatt Johnston, the two goalies (Cossa and Wallstedt), a few solid defensemen at the top of the 2nd (Zellweger and Evans), and Matthew Knies. Bad year to have 1st overall, bad year to have 10th overall, but great year to be picking 7th.

For the record, this was my ranking at the time:

1. Power
2. Beniers
3. Clarke
4. Eklund
5. Hughes
6. Guenther
7. McTavish
8. Edvinsson
9. Johnson

As you said, any of those guys plus Johnston could legitimately end up the best in the class.

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

He's come a very long way.

I remember his draft year, made the roster out of training camp, had a couple immediate points off the powerplay, and then they sent him back to Sweden after nine games. He was holding back tears in the interview, red eyes, cracked voice. I'm glad he went back to Sweden where his momma could slap him back to reality. Reality and meatballs, now eat! You need to get bigger if you wanna play in the NHL.

And I'm glad he had to go through the AHL also before he could make the Sharks. Trial by Fire!!! It's made him tougher and it shows on the ice.

 

[sharski]

Imo Eklund is officially the first member of the Definitely Part of the Next Gen Core team that earned and proved it at the NHL level... Everyone else is either still in the process of proving it (yes I'm including Celebrini here) or is a baby lottery ticket