Per Eklund (born July 9, 1970) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

former professional ice hockey player. Eklund began playing hockey in

Sollentuna HC Sollentuna may refer to: * Sollentuna Municipality, a Swedish municipality * Sollentuna Station, a station of the Stockholm commuter rail * Sollentuna Hundred, a former Swedish geographic division ** Sollentuna Köping, a subdivision of the Sollent ...

but moved to Väsby IK to play in a higher level. He played one game in

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...

, where Väsby had been relegated to from

Elitserien Elitserien (literally, "the Elite League") is the name of several Swedish nationwide sport leagues. In many sports, Elitserien is the highest league, with the second highest named Allsvenskan. Elitserien leagues at present: * Elitserien (badmint ...

, during the 1987–88 season. After a few years unsuccessful attempts to reach Elitserien, Eklund moved to

Huddinge IK Huddinge IK (or ''Huddinge Hockey''), is a Swedish ice hockey team from Huddinge, a southern suburb in Stockholm County. The team is currently playing in the third highest league in Sweden, Hockeyettan. In the middle of the 1990s, a women's flo ...

in the same division after the 1991–92 season. The team managed to reach the last promotion playoff two seasons in a row, however did not manage to go all the way to Elitserien. He made his Elitserien debut in

Djurgårdens IF Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården (), and (especially locally) Djurgår'n (), Dif or DIF – is a Swedish sports association with several sections, located in Stockholm. Name The club is named ...

during the 1994–95 season. Eklund managed to score 19 goals and 29 point and was awarded Rookie of the Year. His achievements in Elitserien drew attention from NHL, and he was drafted by

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, 182nd overall. He played the following two seasons in Djurgården before moving to Detroit's AHL franchise

Adirondack Red Wings The Adirondack Red Wings were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Glens Falls, New York, United States at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The team was affiliated with the Detroit Red Wings of the Natio ...

in 1997. The team made it to the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

but lost all three games in the first round against

Albany River Rats The Albany River Rats were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York at the Times Union Center. History Before the formation of the franchise Without a viable indoor arena with a ...

. Eklund returned to Djurgården after just one season in North America. He became Swedish champion with Djurgården in 2000, before moving abroad again, this time to the German team

Krefeld Pinguine The Krefeld Pinguine (Krefeld Penguins) are an ice hockey team in the DEL2. Their home ice is in Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany at the König Palast. Founded first in 1936 by Willi Münstermann, the pro team became a limited liability ...

. He was not able to help the team to make the playoffs, and he moved back to Sweden and

Linköpings HC Linköpings may refer to: *Linköpings ASS, Linköpings Allmänna Simsällskap is a Swedish swim team *Linköpings FC, an association football club *Linköpings FF, premier men's football team *Linköpings HC, Linköpings Hockey Club See also ...

the following season. After a total of five seasons in Linköping he moved back for a final Elitserien season in Djurgården. His last professional team was German

Straubing Tigers The Straubing Tigers are a professional men's ice hockey team, based in Straubing, Germany, that competes in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Straubing plays its home games at the Eisstadion am Pulverturm, which has a capacity of 5,800 spectators. ...

which he played for during the 2006–07 season. He started playing hockey at a lower level in his first club, Sollentuna. After the 2008–09 season, he ended his playing career and became general manager for the senior team.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eklund, Per 1970 births Adirondack Red Wings players Detroit Red Wings draft picks Djurgårdens IF Hockey players Huddinge IK players Linköping HC players Living people Swedish ice hockey right wingers