While the San Jose Sharks may be in a bad spot, with a weak roster and a thin prospect pool, one bright spot for the future is forward William Eklund.
The 2021 NHL Draft saw such a cluster of players at the top of the projected draft order with little consensus as to who would go where, with really only Owen Power and Matthew Beniers as easy projections for the first two spots. With Eklund slipping to seventh, however, the Sharks may have gotten one of the best players in the draft.
Eklund scored a very impressive 11 goals and 23 points in just 40 SHL games this past season. His SHL draft year stats were higher than those of Washington Capitals’ forward Nicklas Backstrom in his draft year, as well as 2020 top prospects Lucas Raymond and even Eklund's own teammate, Alexander Holtz.
The Sharks’ prospect pool is quite thin at this point, as a result of a lack of quality draft picks over the last few years. The Sharks have Thomas Bordeleau, Ozzy Wiesblatt and Tristen Robins, along with defensemen Ryan Merkley and Artemi Kniazev as top options. That said, it’s still difficult to project where each player may fit long-term with the team. With Eklund, however, it isn’t a matter of whether he’ll be a top forward, it seems more like a matter of how high his ceiling is and how quickly he’ll make the jump to the NHL.
While it’s unlikely that he’ll make the roster this coming season, Eklund may not be overly far off from claiming a spot with the Sharks. Considering he already has a full season of professional experience and will also be 19 years old in October, Eklund could likely be one of the first players from the draft to make the jump to the NHL.
He’s likely the team’s only prospect who seems like a sure bet to be a top player with the team for a long time to come. While the organization will need to build a prospect pool with several other players of Eklund’s caliber to return to contender status, Eklund does project to be a key piece of the team’s future.
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What do you see William Eklund's long-term role being with the Sharks?
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