William Eklund
{{Short description|Swedish ice hockey player (born 2002)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox ice hockey player
| name = William Eklund
| image = William Eklund 240123.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = William Eklund and Mika Zibanejad in January 2024
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2002|10|12|df=y}}
| birth_place = Haninge, Sweden
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 11
| weight_lb = 181
| position = Forward
| shoots = Left
| league = NHL
| team = San Jose Sharks
| former_teams = Djurgårdens IF
| ntl_team =
| draft = 7th overall
| draft_year = 2021
| draft_team = San Jose Sharks
| career_start = 2020
| career_end =
}}
William Eklund (born 12 October 2002) is a Swedish professional ice hockey forward for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Playing career
Eklund made his debut in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) on 4 January 2020, playing for Djurgårdens IF in a 4–2 win away against IK Oskarshamn.{{Cite news|title=Vinst när ikonens son debuterade|url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/hockey/a/4qKJ5G/vinst-nar-ikonens-son-debuterade|last=Ränkeskog|first=Gustaf|date=4 January 2020|access-date=25 December 2020|work=Aftonbladet}} 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,{{citation |url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/draftprospectbrowse.htm?cat=2&sort=finalRank&year=2021 |title=2021 Draft Prospects Ranking|publisher=National Hockey League|access-date=27 May 2021}} he was selected seventh overall by the San Jose Sharks.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/sharks/news/sharks-select-william-eklund-with-seventh-overall-pick-in-2021-nhl-draft/c-325765232|title=Sharks Select William Eklund with Seventh Overall Pick|publisher=National Hockey League|access-date=23 July 2021}}
Eklund was signed by the Sharks to a three-year, entry-level contract on 16 August 2021.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/sharks/news/sharks-sign-2021-seventh-overall-selection-william-eklund/c-325975080|title=Sharks Sign 2021 Seventh Overall Selection William Eklund|date=16 August 2021 |publisher=National Hockey League|access-date=16 August 2021}} He made his NHL debut on 16 October, in a 4–3 win over the Winnipeg Jets, where he also registered his first point, an assist.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-winnipeg-jets-san-jose-sharks-recap-oct-16-1.6214126|title=Sharks' rookies Eklund, Weatherby lead comeback victory over Jets|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=16 October 2021}} After playing nine games with the Sharks, he was reassigned back to Sweden on 5 November.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/sharks/news/sharks-reassign-william-eklund-to-djurgardens/c-327621054|title=Sharks Reassign William Eklund to Djurgardens|date=5 November 2021 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=5 November 2021}} Eklund scored his first NHL goal on 14 March 2023, in a 6–5 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.{{cite web |title=Gaudreau has 5 points as Blue Jackets beat Sharks 6–5 in OT |url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/recap?gameId=401459663 |website=ESPN |access-date=7 April 2024 |date=14 March 2023}}
International play
Eklund was named for the preliminary Swedish junior team roster for the 2021 World Junior Championships, but tested positive for COVID-19, preventing him from joining the final roster for the tournament.{{cite web |last1=Wagner |first1=Daniel |title=COVID-19 could mean Canucks' Costmar gets a major opportunity at the World Junior Championship |date=7 December 2020 |url=https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/canucks-hockey/swedens-world-junior-roster-rocked-by-coronavirus-canucks-costmar-could-benefit-covid-19-3162705 |publisher=Vancouver is Awesome |access-date=24 December 2020}}
Eklund made his debut with the Sweden senior team on 28 April 2021, in a friendly game against Denmark where he scored one goal and made one assist.{{Cite news|title=Tre Kronor-debutanten glänste mot Danmark|url=https://www.svd.se/tre-kronor-debutanten-glanste-mot-danmark-xk3a|last=Ahlberg|first=Ingela|date=28 April 2021|access-date=29 April 2021|work=Svenska Dagbladet}}
Personal life
Eklund is the son of former hockey player Christian Eklund, who also played for Eklund's former team Djurgårdens IF.{{Cite news|title=Inte längesen man stod där i klacken och skrek|url=https://www.expressen.se/sport/hockey/shl/inte-langesen-man-stod-dar-i-klacken-och-skrek/|last=Ögren|first=Vendela|date=15 February 2020|access-date=25 December 2020|work=Expressen|language=sv}} His brother, Victor, is also a hockey player.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/sv/news/william-naste-i-hockeyfamiljen-eklund-325977848 |title=William näste från hockeyfamiljen Eklund |website=NHL.com |first=Janne |last=Bengtsson |date=16 August 2021 |access-date=14 January 2025 |language=sv}}
Career statistics
=Regular season and playoffs=
| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em;" | ||||||||
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! colspan="5"|Regular season ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! colspan="5"|Playoffs | ||||||||
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Season ! Team ! League ! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM | ||||||||
| 2018–19
| J20 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6
| 8 | 2 | 4v| 6 | 0 | |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2019–20 | Djurgårdens IF | J20 | 31 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 22
| — | — | — | — | — |
| 2019–20
| Djurgårdens IF | SHL | 20 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4
| — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2020–21 | Djurgårdens IF | SHL | 40 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 2
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2021–22
| NHL | 9 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2
| — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2021–22 | Djurgårdens IF | SHL | 29 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 4
| — | — | — | — | — |
| 2022–23
| AHL | 54 | 17 | 24 | 41 | 43
| — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2022–23 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6
| — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023–24
| San Jose Sharks | NHL | 80 | 16 | 29 | 45 | 30
| — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2024–25 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 77 | 17 | 41 | 58 | 29
| — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3"|SHL totals ! 89 !! 12 !! 27 !! 39 !! 10 ! 3 !! 1 !! 1 !! 2 !! 2 | ||||||||
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3"|NHL totals ! 174 !! 35 !! 75 !! 110 !! 67 ! — !! — !! — !! — !! — |
=International=
| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" ID="Table3" style="text-align:center; width:40em;" | ||||
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Year ! Team ! Event ! Result ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM | ||||
| 2019
| Sweden | HG18 | {{bronze3}} | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="4"|Junior totals ! 5 !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 2 |
Awards and honors
| class="wikitable" |
| Award
! Year ! Ref |
|---|
| colspan="3"|SHL |
| Rookie of the Year
| 2021 |{{Cite web|url=https://www.shl.se/artikel/8w7yakoo0-403dd/vinnare-av-arets-rookie-i-shl-2020-2021|title=Vinnare av Årets rookie i SHL 2020/2021|date=18 May 2021|access-date=8 July 2021|publisher=Swedish Hockey League|language=sv}} |
| Swedish junior player of the year
| 2021 |
| colspan="3"|NHL |
| E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence
| 2021 |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Ice hockey stats}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-ach}}
{{succession box | before = Jesper Frödén | title = Winner of the SHL Rookie of the Year award | years = 2021 | after = Linus Karlsson}}
{{succession box | before = Ozzy Wiesblatt | title = San Jose Sharks first round draft pick | years = 2021 | after = Filip Bystedt}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eklund, William}}
Category:Djurgårdens IF (men's hockey) players
Category:Ice hockey people from Stockholm County
Category:NHL first-round draft picks
Category:People from Haninge Municipality
Category:San Jose Barracuda players
Category:San Jose Sharks draft picks
Category:San Jose Sharks players
Category:Swedish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
Category:Swedish ice hockey centres
Category:Swedish ice hockey left wingers
Category:21st-century Swedish sportsmen
{{Sweden-icehockey-player-stub}}