This season came to a rough end for the Kings. Some leagues in Europe have already started (and concluded) the postseason – consequently, while NHL teams are either playing for jobs next season or competing for the Stanley Cup, many draft hopefuls get to prepare for the beginning of their North American professional career.
Sitting in the bottom-10 in offense and bottom-half in defense, Rob Blake has a lot of work in the offseason to bring Los Angeles to playoff contention in 2022. We have looked at a few candidates on the blueline to restore the pipeline recently, yet a little additional help up front couldn’t hurt.
WILLIAM EKLUND
Vitals
Date of Birth: October 12, 2002
Height: 5’10
Weight: 172 lbs
Shoots: Left
Position: Forward
2020-21 Season
Eklund played the entirety of the 2020-21 season for Djurgårdens in the SHL. He accumulated 23 points (11 G, 12 A) in 40 contests.
Not to Compare, but Let’s Compare
Eklund’s 23 points in the SHL at the age of 18 is remarkable. There aren’t many players who have put up better numbers, yet Los Angeles has one player whose numbers are very similar. During Anze Kopitar’s D+1 season (which is the season he spent most of his season playing at the highest level in Sweden as an 18-year-old), he scored 20 points (8 G, 12 A) in 47 games. Granted, the SHL has changed quite a bit in the past 15 years, yet the impressive scoring rate remains unchanged.
For a more contemporary comparison, Eklund’s draft year points-per-game in the SHL, in the past decade, is second only to Elias Lindholm (minimum 20 games played). Some players, like Elias Pettersson, weren’t even in the SHL at this age.
Toby or Not (with) Toby
Astute readers and notetakers of MayorsManor should recognize Djurgårdens. It was Tobias Björnfot’s alma mater during his draft year as well as his team at the beginning of this season due to COVID.
Coincidentally, 12 of Eklund’s 23 points came while Björnfot was in the SHL. He had only 11 points (4 G, 7 A) in the final 27 games after the Kings blueliner came back to North America.
Not Your Usual Junior Kings
The native of Haninge, Sweden has other similarities to more prospects in the Kings organization. The forward was recognized for most goals in the SHL by a junior player this season. The honor was also won by Kings draftee Samuel Fagemo in 2020 as well as current roster player Carl Grundstrom in 2017.
Rankings by Independent Scouting Services
Ranked 10th by The Draft Analyst. “Want to put his stats in perspective? Through Wednesday, Eklund’s 0.55 points-per-game average is the highest for a first-year draft eligible in the SHL since Calgary’s Elias Lindholm (0.62) did it for Brynas in 2012-13. In that span, Sweden has had at least 40 first-year eligibles drafted out of the SHL, including several first rounders. Eklund personifies clutch play, timeliness, and excitability. He’s an inside player who isn’t intimidated by bigger defenders and is more than willing to take the puck right into the teeth of neutral or grey-zone coverage. ”
Ranked third by Future Considerations. The linked article doesn’t point to the specific rankings. Instead, it points to Eklund’s eye-popping analytics when tracking him individually in games. For example, he contributed to nearly 50 percent of his team’s overall shot attempts.
Ranked seventh by Bob McKenzie’s Mid-Season Rankings. He is seen as playing “hockey strong” despite being on the smaller side.
See For Yourself
Here is a shift-by-shift video of Eklund playing in the SHL this season. Of particular interest to Kings fans, this match was against 2020 second-round pick Helge Grans and the Malmö Redhawks.
Final Comments
The Kings have made their more recent first-round picks with the intention of going for high upside (Byfield) or culture changers (Turcotte and Björnfot). One of the predominantly anemic aspects of the NHL squad has been the lack of offense and shots generated. They also face a surprising lack of pure wingers – only Samuel Fagemo and Arthur Kaliyev are the top prospects in the pipeline without extensive experience playing center.
While we hammer the point of “don’t draft for need,” the fact remains that Eklund checks a lot of boxes for Los Angeles. From an analytics perspective, he contributes a lot to high danger chances, zone exits and entries, and shot volume in general. Roster-wise, he plays almost exclusively at the left wing. Finally, an understated attribute of the forward is his draft age. Born in October in 2002, he is only 2 months younger than Byfield. As he enters next season, he will have some more physical and mental maturity compared to other draft prospects. This age, coupled with his smaller than average size of 5’10, and he can hit his upside sooner and easier.
While the Kings have shown the ability to identify and develop talent, this player would be lower maintenance with his already existing abilities and intelligence. They would also have access to a different skillset should they choose to try and increase their shot generation.
NOTE: David Hofreiter was the lead contributor in the gathering of information used in this article. You can find him on Twitter @Davidenkness to talk more hockey.
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He is older than byfield? Thus he could have been picked last year?
No.
Byfield was born August 2002. Eklund was born in October 2002.