William Eklund (born 12 October 2002) is a Swedish

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 ...

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who is currently playing with the

San Jose Barracuda The San Jose Barracuda are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. The team will play at Tech CU Arena beginning in the 2022-23 season. The Barracuda is a relocation of the ...

in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) as a prospect to the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

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). Eklund is the son of retired ice hockey player Christian Eklund, who also played for Djurgården.

Playing career

Eklund made his debut in the Swedish Hockey League on 4 January 2020 playing for Djurgårdens IF in a 4–2 win away against

IK Oskarshamn IK Oskarshamn is an ice hockey club from Oskarshamn in Sweden. The team plays in the top-tier league, SHL, after succeeding through the 2019 SHL qualifiers and thus earning promotion to the SHL. The 2019–20 season will be the team's first s ...

. He played a total of 20 regular season games and scoring two points during the rest of the

2019–20 SHL season The 2019–20 SHL season was the 45th season of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). The regular season began in September 2019 and ended in March 2020; it was scheduled to be followed by the Swedish Championship playoffs and the relegation playoffs. ...

. He collected five points in his first eight games in the

2020–21 SHL season The 2020–21 SHL season was the 46th season of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). The regular season began in September 2020 and ended on 3 April 2021, it was then followed by the playoffs and the relegation playoffs. The league consisted of the 14 ...

. Considered the top international prospect for the

2021 NHL Entry Draft The 2021 NHL Entry Draft was the 59th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on July 23–24, 2021, delayed by one month from its normally scheduled time of June due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the later-than-normal finish of the 2020–21 NHL se ...

NHL Central Scouting 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 ...

, he was selected seventh overall by the

. Eklund was signed by the Sharks to a three-year, entry-level contract on 16 August 2021. He made his NHL debut on 16 October 2021, in a 4–3 win over the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

, where he also registered his first point, an assist. After playing nine games with the Sharks, he was reassigned back to Sweden on 5 November 2021.

International play

Eklund was named for the preliminary Swedish roster for the

2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''2021 WJHC'') were the 45th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. It began on December 25, 2020, and ended with the gold medal game on January 5, 2021. This marked the 16th time that ...

. He tested positive for COVID-19, preventing him from joining the final roster for the tournament. Eklund made his debut with the Swedish national ice hockey team on 28 April 2021 in a friendly game against Denmark. He scored one goal and made one assist.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* 2002 births Djurgårdens IF Hockey players Living people National Hockey League first-round draft picks People from Haninge Municipality San Jose Barracuda players San Jose Sharks draft picks San Jose Sharks players Swedish ice hockey players Sportspeople from Stockholm County {{Sweden-icehockey-bio-stub