This season, a spot on the San Jose Sharks’ roster is William Eklund’s to lose. To date, San Jose has slow played the young forward, allowing him time to marinate in the lower leagues. However, after a season in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) following his draft year and then one here in North America with the Barracuda, Eklund’s time is now.
Position: Left Wing
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 181 lbs.
Age: 20
Date of Birth: October 12, 2002
Draft Year: 2021, 7th overall by the San Jose Sharks
Shoots: Left
2023-24 Team: San Jose Sharks/San Jose Barracuda
Over the past two seasons, the 20-year-old forward has played exactly 17 games in the NHL. Spread out over two seasons, that’s just enough to keep all three years of his entry-level contract (ELC) in tact. However, this season Eklund does not qualify for the entry-level slide rule that allowed the Sharks to play him in NHL games without losing a year of contract rights. That means the first year of his contract goes into effect the minute he steps onto the ice in a Sharks’ uniform. In other words, given Eklund’s talent, there’s absolutely no reason, financial or otherwise to hold him back for another season.
Over the past two seasons, Eklund has only proven that the Sharks’ scouts were right when they advised Doug Wilson to pick the Swedish forward at 7th overall.
Eklund started his career with the Sharks immediately after the draft, playing nine games for the Sharks during the 2021-22 season. He registered a point in his first game, an assist, and had four points overall before the Sharks loaned him back to his SHL club, Djurgardens IF. Eklund had 14 points (1 G, 13 A) in 29 games for Djurgardens IF.
He was back in North America for the 2022-23 season. He started things out with the Barracuda, scoring 41 points (17 G, 24 A) in 54 games. Eklund was called up to the Sharks in early March and played 8 games for the big club before the Sharks were forced to send him back down or burn the first year of his ELC. For a club rebuilding, it made sense from a management standpoint to send Eklund back to the Barracuda.
Eklund was injured shortly after he was sent back down and he had shoulder surgery soon after that. When asked about that surgery at the start of rookie camp, Eklund said that it was something that needed to be done and he’s happy he did it.
Eklund played in the Rookie Faceoff tournament and looked good. He looks ready to start training camp without a problem.
What we like
The same things that slotted Eklund into the second spot in last year’s 25 Under 25 are what bring him here this season as well. He’s got the complete package.
His speed is what hurts opposing defensemen the most. As The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler writes, “Eklund has some dynamic qualities between his skating and puck play. He has excellent edges and quickness. He will be able to evade NHL pressure constantly and beat defensemen wide. He makes a lot of difficult dekes and passes on the move and has a very creative offensive mind as a playmaker.”
Eklund understands that for a player of his size, it’s not about getting bigger and bulkier but working on the right muscles to make him explosive. He knows that his speed is what beats players and he spent the summer working on the pieces to make that even more impactful.
Finally, Eklund is good in all three zones. He’s not the player who jumps out of the defensive zone too quickly, hoping to score. He’s the player who evaluates what’s happening on the ice before he makes the calculated decision to move up the ice.
Areas of improvement
This season, the focus should be on Eklund’s mental game. This will be the most challenging year yet for the young prospect. He, along with everyone else, believes that there’s a spot on the Sharks’ roster with his name on it. But he has to prove that he deserves it. That’s a lot of pressure for a young man.
The pressure does not get any better if/when he makes the team. After that, it will be dealing with the rollercoaster that is playing in the NHL. Eklund will have high times where he’s impactful on the scoreboard and low ones where he hasn’t played well in a few games. How he deals with those highs and lows will be important.
If you’ve watched hockey long enough, you’ve seen rookies make the jump to the NHL only to falter and be sent back down to the AHL for more seasoning. That can be devastating to a player’s psyche and it’s not something that we want to see happen to Eklund.
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