Joel Eriksson Ek (last name sometimes stylized as Eriksson-Ek, born 29 January 1997) is a Swedish professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

for the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He was drafted 20th overall by the Wild in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

During his rookie SHL season in 2014–15, Eriksson Ek was extended on a first team contract for a further three-years with Färjestad BK on 12 January 2015. He was seen as one of the top ten international skaters for the 2015 NHL Entry Draft according to the

NHL Central Scouting Bureau The NHL Central Scouting Services (CSS) is a department within the National Hockey League that ranks prospects for the NHL Entry Draft at specific times during the hockey season. Players are ranked based on how well they will translate to the profe ...

before he was selected by the Wild in the first round. On 13 July 2015, Eriksson Ek signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the

. On 22 October 2016, Eriksson Ek made his NHL debut and scored his first goal. After compiling five points in his first four games, Eriksson Ek saw his ice time diminish and in order to preserve his entry-level deal he was re-assigned back to Färjestad BK on 17 November 2016. During the

2017–18 NHL season The 2017–18 NHL season was the 101st season of operation (100th season of play) of the National Hockey League. With the addition of a new expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights, 31 teams competed in an 82-game regular season. The regular sea ...

, Eriksson Ek was called up to the NHL on 6 December 2017. After going 50 games without a goal, he broke his drought in a game against the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

on 19 February 2018. On 21 August 2019, the Wild re-signed Eriksson Ek to a two-year, $2.975 million contract extension. On 2 July 2021, Eriksson Ek signed an eight-year, $42 million contract extension with the Wild.

Personal life

Eriksson Ek comes from a hockey playing family as his father, Clas Eriksson, played with

Färjestad BK Färjestad Bollklubb (; abbreviated as FBK) is a Swedish professional ice hockey team based in Karlstad. Färjestad has had 21 Swedish Championship final appearances, winning ten times since the Swedish Hockey League (SHL; formerly Elitserien) ...

for 13 seasons and his brother Olle was drafted by the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...

in the

2017 NHL Entry Draft The 2017 NHL Entry Draft was the 55th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 23–24, 2017, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The first three selections were Nico Hischier going to the New Jersey Devils, Nolan Patrick going to the ...

and is currently playing for the San Diego Gulls of the AHL.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* 1997 births Living people Färjestad BK players Iowa Wild players Minnesota Wild draft picks Minnesota Wild players National Hockey League first-round draft picks Swedish ice hockey centres Sportspeople from Karlstad Swedish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States {{Sweden-icehockey-centre-stub