THE ISLANDERS SELECTED EKLUND 16TH OVERALL AT THE 2025 NHL DRAFT
Name: Victor Eklund
Position: Left wing
Team: Djurgarden (Hockey Allsvenskan)
2024-25:
Games Played: 42
Goals: 19
Assists: 12
Points: 31
PIM: 37
Plus-Minus: +16
NHL Central Scouting Ranking: 2nd, International Skaters
Victor Eklund took big strides in his second Hockey Allsvenskan - Sweden’s second pro league - season, racking up 31 points (19G, 12A) in 42 regular season games. The winger helped Djurgarden earn promotion into the Swedish Hockey League, the country’s top professional league.
Eklund won the Guldgallret for Allsvenskan’s top junior, an award previously won by Vegas’ William Karlsson, Nashville’s Filip Forsberg and Philadelphia’s Samuel Ersson. Eklund led all junior players in goals and points.
Internationally, Eklund recorded six points (2G, 4A) in seven games at the 2025 World Juniors, as Sweden finished fourth in the tournament.
Eklund is the brother of San Jose Sharks' winger William Eklund.
Eklund on his NHL comparable
"[I model my game after] Travis Konecny. He definitely plays with a lot of energy and tries to get under the skin of the opponents and just play pretty physical like I do."
On how playing pro in Sweden has helped him develop
"Probably getting to be more mature, I guess, in the earliest of age. Learning how and where to not lose the puck and where to be mature. And, yeah, obviously, praying against men's they're stronger, bigger."
Eklund on his teammate and first-ranked International skater Anton Frondell
"He's just an extraordinary guy. He's the nicest guy I've ever talked to, and maybe sometimes even over nice. On the ice, he's just a tank. He has a shot like a missile, and his stick handling and his stick skills are just unbelievable. Never seen something like that before."
