Prospect Info: Joel Eriksson Ek (C) - 20th Overall, 2015

[Victorious Secret]

Eriksson Ek has been one of the revelations of the season. Able to grab a roster spot for Farjestad before
Winter, his play earned him more icetime as the months passed by. The more you watch him play, the more
you understand why. He is effective all around the rink and plays a safe game.
He goes to battle in all three zones and even against men never showed signs of backing off from physical
confrontations. The tough areas of the ice seem his favourite destinations. He likes to position in front of
the net to look for deflections or make himself available in the slot. When he has the puck in the offensive
zone if he can’t shoot he tries to take the puck to the net. For how he is built he shows surprising firmness
on his skates. Uses his very good reach to protect and maneuver the puck when engaged along the boards.
He forechecks hard and gets physical when he really wants the puck. His passes are consistently accurate,
but inside the offensive zone he is more of a shooter, which only makes sense considering his wrist shot is
outstanding and definitely his best weapon. He has a short release, is able to fire from any angle with
power and impressive accuracy, and he can quickly create lanes for his shot.
Eriksson Ek is an intelligent player that can make good use of his skillset and can contribute a lot on the
defensive side as well. At his blueline he effectively uses his reach to negate entries into his zone. He can
be effective on both special teams. It’s just very difficult to find real weaknesses in his game. His skating is
not pretty and has a bit of an awkward stride, but it gets him where he needs to be, and as the season
progressed the situations where he didn’t look quick enough to get going seemed to vanish. He may not
possess 1st-line creativity or pure skills (outside of his shot), but he looks like one the safest picks of the
draft.

About as good as I hoped for.

 

[tyratoku]

I wonder if Fletcher will try and get him to come over and play in Iowa next season.

 

[puckMAN]

It's a safe pick.

This is my problem with the pick,they ALWAYS make the "safe pick" they seem unwilling to go high risk high reward.I think Joel will become a solid NHL player but never be more then a role guy that gets around 35-45 points.

 

[TZM]

I wonder if he'd crack the Färjestad BK lineup next season. Will be interesting to see his progress. Would've wanted someone with more of an offensive mindset. We'll see. Can't complain if he's one of safest pick at #20.

Extra plus: I get more value out of Viaplay. Might watch his games once in a while!

 

[AKL]

Take time with this kid. Don't rush him onto the NHL roster. He sounds like a C with a nose for scoring goals in pretty much every way you can score a goal, but let him develop properly. We have Koivu, Granlund, Haula, Graovac ahead of him still, he's not so good that we need him to help us right away.

 

[Marlowe Syn]

I think he has more potential than just a #3C. My expectations for him is to develop into a good #2C

He probably does has higher potential than #3C, but I'm always a bit bearish on picks. Better to expect low and get a Brodin, than go all James Sheppard.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

He has 30-30 upside.

 

[Minnesota]

I've seen him compared to Silfverberg.

 

[Granlund 64]

This is my problem with the pick,they ALWAYS make the "safe pick" they seem unwilling to go high risk high reward.I think Joel will become a solid NHL player but never be more then a role guy that gets around 35-45 points.

Dumba says hai!

 

[Jbcraig1883]

HP - ranked 15 "Plays a safe game...tough areas of the ice seem his favourite destinations...inside the offensive zone more of a shooter...wrist shot is outstanding...intelligent player...skating is not pretty and a bit of an awkward stride...may not possess 1st line creativity or pure skills, but he looks like one of the safest picks in the draft."

Mark Edwards tweet "Nice pick by Minnesota. Kid has a fantastic shot and competes hard. Not many weaknesses. Skating not perfect but didn't scare me. #NHLDraft"


Oops, didn't see it posted here.

 

[Engebretson]

 

[Circulartheory]

This is my problem with the pick,they ALWAYS make the "safe pick" they seem unwilling to go high risk high reward.I think Joel will become a solid NHL player but never be more then a role guy that gets around 35-45 points.

Disagree. I think, with proper development, he could reach into the 50-60 point range.

 

[Nsjohnson]

Pretty much these:





He's a pretty safe bet to be a 3rd line C, ceiling seems to be a good 2nd line C. It's a real nice pick if Granlund can realize his 1C potential, but if not, we're in the same position we are now with Koivu and Granlund as our top 2 C.

I think with who was on the board, his ceiling is comparable to some of the other C's available.

It's a good pick, because for all we know a guy his size and skills becomes a guy like non peak Brad Richards or hmm maybe Logan Couture.

 

[melinko]

One thing I'd like to know is what makes him different than Johan Larsson?

Their stats from SEL and the Junior league look pretty similar.

 

[AKL]

I think with who was on the board, his ceiling is comparable to some of the other C's available.

It's a good pick, because for all we know a guy his size and skills becomes a guy like non peak Brad Richards or hmm maybe Logan Couture.

Travis Konecny for sure has a higher ceiling than Eriksson Ek. I think Colin White does too. Like I said, nothing wrong with this pick. It's a very safe pick. Just, we need to branch out sometime and go with the non-safe pick. Take a chance.

 

[ThatGuy22]

I think there is a good chance he develops into a less **** heady Kesler/Backes.

25-30 goal scorer

 

[AKL]

One thing I'd like to know is what makes him different than Johan Larsson?

Their stats from SEL and the Junior league look pretty similar.

I think he's got better tools than Larsson. Definitely a better shot, more physical, more of an offensive instinct in general. Larsson and Eriksson Ek both have very similar floors, and both have ceilings as 2C's, I just think Eriksson Ek is more likely to reach that ceiling.

 

[Wild11MN]

Tuch vs. Eriksson Ek? Higher upside goes to Tuch?

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Similar upsides I'd say.

 

[Marlowe Syn]

I've seen him compared to Silfverberg.

I saw on a Detroit blog on SBNation they gave a comparable to Couturier. Not a bad comparison there either.

Dumba says hai!

Still wished we took Trouba. But Dumba55 is turning out alright.

 

[Minnesota]

First name is pronounced "Yule."

Huh.

 

[Circulartheory]

Similar upsides I'd say.

Higher for me. I just love the idea of Eriksson Ek producing on the stat sheet in the U18 and the Swedens J20, and decent numbers for a rookie in the SHL

 

[TZM]

First name is pronounced "Yule."

Huh.

It's actually You-el

 

[Nsjohnson]

An elite shot and good to excellent other areas, with skating his 'only' hit- one that he has already gotten better at. And skating is one o those things that can be greatly improved upon.

He'll be a 6'2'' 200lb player in 3 years that will be just great on our team.

 

[Spurgeon]

Yeah, I'd say his floor is a scoring 3rd line center and his ceiling could honestly be a first line center.

His shot makes me excited.