Prospect Info: Sharks Select William Eklund at 7th Overall *Update* returned to Djurgarden

Harbessix

Registered User
Jun 2, 2010
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Halifax, NS
FYI, William has a 14 year old brother named Victor that had 9 points in 3 games in Sweden’s U16 division 1 this past year. Already have a target in mind for the 2025 draft ;)
 
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Hodge

Registered User
Apr 27, 2021
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If the Sharks drafted Clarke, and the Kings drafted Eklund next, they still would have given the Kings an A, and Sharks a B+.

Ranking by the media is all BS.

I mean, the other Kings picks look a lot better than the other Sharks picks. Pinelli, Kirsanov and Helenius all look like better prospects right now than anyone the Sharks drafted rounds 3-7.
 

stator

Registered User
Apr 17, 2012
5,009
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San Jose
I mean, the other Kings picks look a lot better than the other Sharks picks. Pinelli, Kirsanov and Helenius all look like better prospects right now than anyone the Sharks drafted rounds 3-7.

I recall that all of the Kings draft picks were between the Sharks first pick of the draft, and their next pick. Giving the Kings an A and the Sharks a B+ doesn't tell the story on how well each used their picks.

The media loves the Kings out west. Always had compared to other western US teams.

In the end, media draft rankings tells me more about how well the GM traded for draft picks, or how well the team tanked/sucked.
 

Boy Hedican

Homer Jr, friends call me Ho-Ju
Jul 12, 2006
5,084
1,166
Earff
Bump for more hype. I kept seeing other fans comparing him to Zegras (any opinions here?) so I spent a few hours watching Zegras highlights. Holy hell ANA has a gem with that kid. He is nasty. Gonna hate playing against him, but going to love watching him play.

If Eklund brings us Zegras vibes…yessssss
 
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Munnyro

Registered User
Jul 15, 2013
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I think the main point of the comparison is Zegras falling as far as he did in the draft. Not 100% the play style. Similarities in being good puck distributers/high IQ/two play for sure.
 
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Stewie Griffin

What the deuce
May 9, 2019
4,861
7,669
Canada
I've seen a lot of comparables to Ehlers and Aho. He's a hard guy to compare to though because of his playing style. Great with the puck, but he's under 6' but finishes his checks and competes defensively. Pretty much everything you want out of a forward:popcorn:. If you pair this guy with someone who is just a pure sniper that only cares about goals...good things could happen.
 
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hohosaregood

Banned
Sep 1, 2011
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I've seen a lot of comparables to Ehlers and Aho. He's a hard guy to compare to though because of his playing style. Great with the puck, but he's under 6' but finishes his checks and competes defensively. Pretty much everything you want out of a forward:popcorn:. If you pair this guy with someone who is just a pure sniper that only cares about goals...good things could happen.
The really hype projection is Zetterberg.
 
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Jargon

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Apr 12, 2011
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Venice, California
I've seen a lot of comparables to Ehlers and Aho. He's a hard guy to compare to though because of his playing style. Great with the puck, but he's under 6' but finishes his checks and competes defensively. Pretty much everything you want out of a forward:popcorn:. If you pair this guy with someone who is just a pure sniper that only cares about goals...good things could happen.

Where’s Cheechoo when you need him?

Ironically, a lot of our up and coming guys are playmakers — Wiesblatt, Bordeleau are supposed to be playmakers too. I guess Gushchin isn’t but we’re going to need some snipers in a couple years.
 

themelkman

Always Delivers
Apr 26, 2015
11,392
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Where’s Cheechoo when you need him?

Ironically, a lot of our up and coming guys are playmakers — Wiesblatt, Bordeleau are supposed to be playmakers too. I guess Gushchin isn’t but we’re going to need some snipers in a couple years.
If Meier can get his act together, hes a better shooter than passer
 
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anthonyyy

Registered User
Aug 11, 2011
572
348
Las Vegas, NV
Where’s Cheechoo when you need him?

Ironically, a lot of our up and coming guys are playmakers — Wiesblatt, Bordeleau are supposed to be playmakers too. I guess Gushchin isn’t but we’re going to need some snipers in a couple years.
f*** it let's just trade Labanc for Tarasenko.
 

tealzamboni

Registered User
Mar 3, 2007
1,816
1,226
Where’s Cheechoo when you need him?

Ironically, a lot of our up and coming guys are playmakers — Wiesblatt, Bordeleau are supposed to be playmakers too. I guess Gushchin isn’t but we’re going to need some snipers in a couple years.

I'm a bit more concerned on what the zone entry scheme will look like. Edges, puck handling, and passing seem quite the opposite from dump, chase, rear end, dig. I suppose with players like Balcers, Barabanov, Dahlen, next season might shine some light on how the Sharks will diversify (or not).
 

Karl Prime

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Feb 13, 2017
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I'm a bit more concerned on what the zone entry scheme will look like. Edges, puck handling, and passing seem quite the opposite from dump, chase, rear end, dig. I suppose with players like Balcers, Barabanov, Dahlen, next season might shine some light on how the Sharks will diversify (or not).

With having Balcers, Barabanov, and Dahlen as the young roster players, and drafting Wiesblatt, Bordeleau, and Eklund, Wilson definitely seems to be building a roster with a clear vision of game style in mind. Whether Boughner is the coach to implement that style, I don't know, but I highly doubt it. These are all the kinds of players that Karlsson and Burns need to pass the puck to, though - guys that can take a good entry pass and bring success out of it.
 

Jargon

Registered User
Apr 12, 2011
5,380
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Venice, California
With having Balcers, Barabanov, and Dahlen as the young roster players, and drafting Wiesblatt, Bordeleau, and Eklund, Wilson definitely seems to be building a roster with a clear vision of game style in mind. Whether Boughner is the coach to implement that style, I don't know, but I highly doubt it. These are all the kinds of players that Karlsson and Burns need to pass the puck to, though - guys that can take a good entry pass and bring success out of it.

The Boughner of it all is my concern. I mean, you have to imagine Doug and Boughner talked about their vision of the team together and obviously this is the direction they're moving, but I am worried that they're building a fast-flying, high-skilled team and Bob is going to make them cycle in the corners all day.
 

sharks_dynasty

Registered User
Oct 25, 2006
1,030
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San Jose, CA
The Boughner of it all is my concern. I mean, you have to imagine Doug and Boughner talked about their vision of the team together and obviously this is the direction they're moving, but I am worried that they're building a fast-flying, high-skilled team and Bob is going to make them cycle in the corners all day.
Eh, even if he isn’t the right coach, he can be replaced if required. These players are barely going to be entering the league, so we will have plenty of time to figure out if Bob is the right coach.
 
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Jargon

Registered User
Apr 12, 2011
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Venice, California
Eh, even if he isn’t the right coach, he can be replaced if required. These players are barely going to be entering the league, so we will have plenty of time to figure out if Bob is the right coach.

Well, sure, if Doug fires him before he ruins a bunch of rookies' confidence. We'll see though. I'm curious what he can do with the team this year.
 
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hohosaregood

Banned
Sep 1, 2011
32,281
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I guess that’s a fair point, they wanted to be a fast transition team. I was mostly blinded by how bad they were at everything.
There were stretches of games where things were clicking and the forwards could actually catch passes and the transition attack actually did look pretty good. The problem that would pop up after a while seemed to be the actual in-zone play on both ends. Either they would get the puck into the offensive zone and then immediately turn the puck over or they couldn't recover the puck in the defensive zone. I suspect it's more related to the lack of execution from the forwards than from the defense personally.
 

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