Player Information
Birthaday: Decemebr 12, 2002
League: Sweden, SHL
Height: 78kg/172 lbs
Position: LW/C
Shoots: Left
ONLY REGULAR SEASONIntroduction
William Eklund is a young Swedish forward who is one of the best prospects available for the 2021 Draft. Plying his craft for Djurgårdens IF of the SHL, Eklund could prove to be one of the most NHL-ready forwards from the 2021 draft class. Despite lacking a mature body, he compensates this with his skill, hockey IQ, competitiveness and hard work. He is not afraid to get in front of the net and grind in dirty areas. Eklund is currently playing in his second season with the senior team of Djurgårdens. Last season was a jumble, playing with the U18, U20, and SHL Djurgårdens teams. Season 202021 has seen it become his breakout proper; as he earnt a promotion full-time into the SHL. So far he has 19 points for 10 goals and 9 assists in 35 games played, which is the best performance from a U19 player in the league. That’s ahead of top-10 picks from last year’s draft Lucas Raymond and teammate Alexander Holtz.
Unfortunately, he missed World Juniors due to Covid-19.
Skating
He has been criticized in this area. He is not the fastest skater but has good edges and agility. He has a low center of gravity due to his size which helps him not to be beaten to pucks. He does however display a strong base which allows for him to cut and launch off of his edges and from irregular footings, seeing him somewhat offset his lack of acceleration. As he gets stronger as he continues to develop physically, I believe he can become a good skater at the NHL level. Technically he’s rather sound skating wise, he’s just lacking the leg strength and stride length at this stage to be deemed a very-good to elite skater.
He needs to improve his acceleration as you can see on this video:
Shooting
There is room for improvement with his shot. Eklund is dangerous with his quick release; both wrist and snap-shot. His shot is not the hardest (he needs to get stronger) or the most accurate, but he can find the right spots for himself in front of the net and in the slot area.
Eklund in the right spot at the right time:
As we can see on this video, Eklund can find space for himself, but the shot is too slow to end up in goal:
This shift shows how good Eklund is at reading the play, finding open ice to receive pass. He enters the zone, moves the puck into a shooting position and scores:
Stick Play
Eklund can handle the puck effortlessly, he is tough to catch with his skill moves and offers capable puck protection. He can deke his way through one-on-one situations and shows an adequate array of skills on the puck to deceive and create room for himself. Eklund has a very high hockey IQ and evidently just as classy hand-eye coordination.
In this play he uses his hands to push off the defender and pass to his teammate. Then he skates to the slot and finds himself in good scoring space:
Playstyle
I can safely say that he is already showing promising signs of becoming a solid 200-foot player. He works hard in the defensive zone off the puck with his positioning, ability to filter into passing lanes and show an understanding of how to support his defenders down-low. Whilst Eklund may be a naturally offensive minded player, there is a very dependable aspect to his defense that appears to be improving as he continues to see more ice time. He spent 42 percent of time in defensive zone and 39 percent in the offensive zone and has been trusted with 15-plus minutes a night on average ice time; very respectable for a prospect his age playing men’s league hockey.
Eklund knows exactly where his opponent is and makes right decesion to block the pass at the right time:
He can run powerplay from the right boards or get to the front of the net as well.
In this video, we can see how good is Eklund with puck on his stick and his vision. His creative ability draws the defenders to him, allowing for Eklund to open up shooting and passing lanes. This play results in Eklund collecting a primary assist:
This play is showing how he is smart at reading the game speed and finding ways to create with little space or time with flair. This between the legs pass is amazing:
Comparison
Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Bäckström and Patrik Eliáš. Similarities lie within reading the play at both ends of the ice, playing both sides of the puck and finding ways to contribute offensively regularly.
Conclusion
From my point of view, is Eklund the best forward in this draft. His floor could be a good two-way player who can contribute top-line minutes and contribute on both special team’s units.
Rankings
#5 – Recruit Scouting (February)
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