| William Eklund | |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 October 2002, Haninge, Sweden |
| Height Weight |
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb) |
| Position | Centre/Left Wing |
| Shoots | Left |
| NHL team F. teams |
San Jose Sharks Djurgårdens IF |
| NHL Draft | 7th overall, 2021 San Jose Sharks |
| Playing career | 2020–present |
William Eklund (born 12 October 2002) is a Swedish ice hockey forward who is currently playing as a prospect to the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Eklund is the son of retired ice hockey player Christian Eklund, who also played for Djurgården.[1]
Playing career[]
Eklund made his debut in the Swedish Hockey League on 4 January 2020 playing for Djurgårdens IF in a 4–2 win away against IK Oskarshamn.[2] He played a total of 20 regular season games and scoring two points during the rest of the 2019–20 SHL season. He collected five points in his first eight games in the 2020–21 SHL season. Considered the top international prospect for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft by NHL Central Scouting,[3] he was selected seventh overall by the San Jose Sharks.[4]
Eklund was signed by the Sharks to a three-year, entry-level contract on 16 August 2021.[5] He made his NHL debut on 16 October 2021, in a 4–3 win over the Winnipeg Jets, where he also registered his first point, an assist.[6] After playing nine games with the Sharks, he was reassigned back to Sweden on 5 November 2021.[7]
International play[]
Eklund was named for the preliminary Swedish roster for the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He tested positive for COVID-19, preventing him from joining the final roster for the tournament.[8]
Eklund made his debut with the Swedish national ice hockey team on 28 April 2021 in a friendly game against Denmark. He scored one goal and made one assist.[9]
Career statistics[]
Regular season and playoffs[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2018–19 | Djurgårdens IF | J20 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Djurgårdens IF | J20 | 31 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Djurgårdens IF | SHL | 20 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Djurgårdens IF | SHL | 40 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 9 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Djurgårdens IF | SHL | 29 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| SHL totals | 89 | 12 | 27 | 39 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| NHL totals | 9 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International[]
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Sweden | HG18 | 
|
5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||||
Awards and honors[]
| Award | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| SHL | ||
| Rookie of the Year | 2021 | [10] |
| Swedish junior player of the year | 2021 | [11] |
| NHL | ||
| E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence | 2021 | [12] |
References[]
- ↑ Ögren, Vendela. "Inte längesen man stod där i klacken och skrek", Expressen, 15 February 2020. (sv)
- ↑ Ränkeskog, Gustaf. "Vinst när ikonens son debuterade", Aftonbladet, 4 January 2020.
- ↑ 2021 Draft Prospects Ranking, National Hockey League, <http://www.nhl.com/ice/draftprospectbrowse.htm?cat=2&sort=finalRank&year=2021>. Retrieved on 27 May 2021
- ↑ Sharks Select William Eklund with Seventh Overall Pick. National Hockey League.
- ↑ Sharks Sign 2021 Seventh Overall Selection William Eklund. National Hockey League.
- ↑ Sharks' rookies Eklund, Weatherby lead comeback victory over Jets. cbc.ca.
- ↑ Sharks Reassign William Eklund to Djurgardens. cbc.ca.
- ↑ COVID-19 could mean Canucks' Costmar gets a major opportunity at the World Junior Championship. Vancouver is Awesome.
- ↑ Ahlberg, Ingela. "Tre Kronor-debutanten glänste mot Danmark", Svenska Dagbladet, 28 April 2021.
- ↑ Vinnare av Årets rookie i SHL 2020/2021 (sv). Swedish Hockey League (18 May 2021).
- ↑ William Eklund, Djurgårdens IF är Årets Junior 2020/2021. Swedish Ice Hockey Association (21 May 2021).
- ↑ Morreale, Mike (5 July 2021). Eklund receives E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence. National Hockey League.
External links[]
- Career statistics and player information from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or ESPN.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jesper Frödén |
Winner of the SHL Rookie of the Year award 2021 |
Succeeded by Linus Karlsson |
| Preceded by Ozzy Wiesblatt |
San Jose Sharks first round draft pick 2021 |
Succeeded by Filip Bystedt |
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at William Eklund. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA). |