William Eklund

[Eye of Ra]

Saw no thread about him. Is he doing Good?

Click to read more...

 

[Shark Finn]

yes

 

[Juxtaposer]

Yeah.

 

[coooldude]

Creative in the offensive zone, especially with passing, very intelligent player in e.g. forechecking and defending to cause turnovers, getting smarter all around off the puck, and has a pretty dangerous shot on the PP wing. Wins more puck battles than you might expect given his size. Not a speedster but makes up for it in positioning and vision, kind of like Pavs. He looks like he belongs and hopefully he has another 2-3 seasons of improvement before he hits a steady state for his career.

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

I am absolutely happy with his progress even if the point totals look slim, especially because he is solid at checking and defense. We need these 200-ft players before we get the pure sublime offensive players like Smith

 

[one2gamble]

He's going to put up 80 next year!

 

[Alaskanice]

This kid is probably not going to lead the league in scoring but he’ll be the guy who shines in the playoffs. He is a puck hound. He gets underneath guys in a flash to win the puck. He changes direction for space. He protects the puck with his body and is slippery. He possesses a great shot and is not afraid of the dirty areas. He is talented in the ways that help lead a team.

 

[tahoesharksfan]

Very!

 

[jarr92]

IMO he’s got a little Datsyuk quality to his game with his shiftiness, especially behind the net.

 

[SJSharksfan39]

He's the most exciting player on the team currently.

 

[Kcoyote3]

What a guy

 

[Bowie22]

bust

 

[Sendhelplease]

He seems to be a player with immense offensive skill but has been unable to fully use it on this team given the lack of scoring ability around him. Defensively he is a solid player already and I think he is going to be an incredibly well rounded two way forward. I expect his offensive stats to improve substantially when he is surrounded by other good players who can finish his passes.

 

[sharski]

Calling it now he's gonna be a shark for life

But needs a frienemy on this team to compete with

 

[DG93]

Very smart and skilled playmaking top-6 winger who is holding his own defensively. Now that Eklund has been unhooked from some of the biggest boat anchors on the roster, he has been getting better and better alongside Hertl.

 

[Jargon]

He’s a little bit like a robot constantly training itself to get better. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a player process their own problems and then improve upon them so quickly and efficiently. He’s incredibly cerebral and one of those key cogs to a Stanley Cup winner. Put a pure high end sniper on his line and he’s going to put up a ton of points.

In fact, I think he’s going to have a big second half of the season. He’s a really special player.

 

[Alaskanice]

He’s a little bit like a robot constantly training itself to get better. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a player process their own problems and then improve upon them so quickly and efficiently. He’s incredibly cerebral and one of those key cogs to a Stanley Cup winner. Put a pure high end sniper on his line and he’s going to put up a ton of points.

In fact, I think he’s going to have a big second half of the season. He’s a really special player.

His dad played professional hockey and taught him a lot. Mostly, how to be aggressive. Not something one sees much in skilled players.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Yeah.

To elaborate on this:

2 points in his first 11 games
12 points in his last 18 games

Dual threat to pass or to shoot, plays well at all strengths (PP, EV, PK), four GWG so far, plays with an edge and is surprisingly physical considering his stature. I said at the beginning of the year that if Eklund put up 40 points this year I would be happy. Think he could exceed that now.

 

[Munnyro]

His shot progression has been fun to watch. I wonder what it'll be like in a few years.

 

[hohosaregood]

His shot progression has been fun to watch. I wonder what it'll be like in a few years.

The comparison that Sheng showed in his recent article really showed how unnatural it was for him before this season. His form is pretty nice now. Like good weight transfer for power without having to throw his whole body into it.

 

[timorous me]

I love him. That's all.

Actually, hmm, I would say what I'm most impressed by outside of his shot improvement is his physical improvement. Remember how worried we were for him a couple years ago when he debuted? Now he's mucking it up with guys practically twice his size and looks really hard to knock off the puck, let alone off his feet.

 

[Shark Finn]

He's going to put up 80 goals next year!

ftfy

 

[Eye of Ra]

His dad played professional hockey and taught him a lot. Mostly, how to be aggressive. Not something one sees much in skilled players.

His dad was a grinder

Christian Eklund at eliteprospects.com

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Christian Eklund, 1977-07-24 Stockholm, SWE Sweden. Most recently in the Division 3 with Brödernas Hockey. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

 

[Barrie22]

I love him. That's all.

Actually, hmm, I would say what I'm most impressed by outside of his shot improvement is his physical improvement. Remember how worried we were for him a couple years ago when he debuted? Now he's mucking it up with guys practically twice his size and looks really hard to knock off the puck, let alone off his feet.

Who was worried about Eklund after his first 9 game stint? He showed he had the talent to play at this level even back then, just that he was trying things at the NHL level that maybe would not work or would get him injured by opening him up for a big hit.

Eklund was one of the prospects we could of rushed without actually hurting his development.

 

[BaileyMacTavish]

To elaborate on this:

2 points in his first 11 games
12 points in his last 18 games

Dual threat to pass or to shoot, plays well at all strengths (PP, EV, PK), four GWG so far, plays with an edge and is surprisingly physical considering his stature. I said at the beginning of the year that if Eklund put up 40 points this year I would be happy. Think he could exceed that now.

He's on a 43 point pace so it's possible