A few days ago at Broad Street Hockey, we profiled center Anton Frondell from the HockeyAllsvenskan’s Djurgårdens IF, who slotted in at No. 4 on our list. Now, just a couple spots behind, we turn to one of his linemates in the freshly promoted club: 5-foot-11 winger Victor Eklund.
Victor Eklund, the brother of San Jose Sharks forward and 2021 seventh overall pick William Eklund, has formed the second half of a dynamic duo for Djurgårdens. There hasn’t been nearly the same amount of hype around Victor Eklund as there was for his brother in 2021, but it is likely that he still goes around the same range (or even higher) in the upcoming draft.
In a 2024 NHL.com interview, Victor Eklund touched on the comparisons between him and his brother. “I can see some similarities between us, but I think I’m good near the boards. I guess I consider myself somewhat of a slick player, but not as slick as my brother.”
If Victor Eklund can turn into a player that’s anywhere close to the player William Eklund is, a team will be ecstatic with that outcome for a high first round pick. But, as Victor notes, the players do have their differences, so let’s dive into what makes Victor Eklund a top prospect in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Pre-draft rankings
No. 9 by The Athletic (Scott Wheeler)
No. 7 by Elite Prospects
No. 8 by TSN (Bob McKenzie)
No. 10 by Daily Faceoff
Statistics
What’s there to like?
Eklund, really, is everywhere on the ice. Over the course of his draft year, he’s garnered a reputation for always being involved in the play. When you watch a game of Eklund’s shifts, you kinda see why. In all three zones, Eklund engages well and never really stops moving. Forcing turnovers in the defensive and neutral zones, leading the rush through the middle, controlling the puck into the offensive zone. You name the facet of the game, and Eklund is pretty darn good at it. He’s even unafraid to get into dirty areas, making life uncomfortable for defenders and often forcing turnovers below the goal line.
A few days ago, we talked about Anton Frondell’s biggest weakness as a playdriver and in carrying the puck with a purpose through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone. Well, Eklund seemed to be the perfect linemate for a player like Frondell this past season. There are so many Djurgårdens highlights that see Eklund do all the little stuff mentioned above – strong skating through the neutral zone, pressure along the offensive boards, good stick work to force a turnover. Eklund, in my eyes, was the engine that made that line run on most occasions, and Frondell’s raw tools and goal-scoring ability were a beneficiary. That’s not to take away from Frondell (scoring tools/ability is important!), but to say that the fundamentals of Eklund’s game are some of the strongest in the draft class.
Eklund’s also a sneaky good skater, and is particularly strong on his edges and along the boards. It’s not a really fast skating stride, but Eklund’s high compete level makes up for any deficiencies he has as a pure skater. Combined with a set of nice hands, Eklund is the full package for a forechecking, high intensity winger. Some of his strong plays come where Eklund is able to utilize his plus puck protection to create openings for his teammates (or himself). In the play below, Eklund skates from down low to along the half wall, and finds a split-second opening to go cross-ice to a waiting Frondell for a goal.
In other situations, Eklund’s puck protection is excellent on the rush. He has an elusiveness about him, and in a few different plays this past season, he was able to skate laterally to evade defenders and protect the puck, eventually leading to goals. In the above video, his puck protection ability is essential to the goals at the 0:40 and 1:00 marks.
Really, Eklund’s high-end skill might not be as lethal as some other forwards in this draft class, but he still may produce to similar levels because of just how many chances he creates for his team and linemates. 31 points in 42 pro games in Sweden is a pretty impressive mark for an 18-year-old, and certainly projects well to the next level. Stylistically, he’s constantly humming, and even if he’s not capitalizing on all his chances at the next level, Eklund’s bound to capitalize on enough to make himself a pretty good NHLer.
What’s not to like?
Eklund definitely has an interesting style of play for a winger who’s not the biggest of guys on the ice. Listed at 5-foot-11 and 181 pounds, there’s still some size left to be desired for Eklund. Even though he’s played against men in the HockeyAllsvenskan, he’s going to need it in the NHL, where his high-compete physical play might wear him down over the course of a long season.
Other than that? Eklund is a pretty complete player in all three facets, and it’s hard to find too many glaring deficiencies with his actual game. Some reports have noted times where he gets a little overzealous with the puck and tries to do it all himself, but that’s the case with the majority of high end forward prospects. Improving on his selectiveness in the offensive zone, picking his spots to go full throttle, and things of that nature are all coachable. There’s a really complete player here that will only get better as he develops.
After those concerns, there are also doubts over Eklund’s ability to become a top-scorer at the NHL level. With a player that gets a ton of his points from high compete level and some high-end skills, he’s going to have to be exceptional at play-driving to maintain that in the NHL. He could be able to do so, but there’s also a chance he just becomes a dominant middle-six wing that is a complete pain to play against. Not a bad outcome at all, but the chances of him becoming an elite offensive player might not be the highest of the class.
How would he fit in the Flyers’ system?
It’s a cliche, but I really think that Eklund’s the kind of player that Philadelphia would fall in love with. The high motor, never quit energy of Eklund’s game is hard not to enjoy, and he’s got some scoring chops to back it up. If things were to pan out, Eklund could join some of the really good forechecking forwards the Flyers currently have (guys like Foerster, Cates) and force opposing defenses into some really uncomfortable situations. Eklund, though, could provide a higher upside offensively to go with those forechecking skills – creating the exact prototype of a player that could excel in Philadelphia.
Could the Flyers actually get him?
The Flyers could certainly get Eklund at probably wherever position they fall in the draft. There feels like a clear top four developing in this draft – Schaefer, Misa, Hagens, Frondell – and a complete confusion on what happens after that. Eklund’s a part of that murky middle, and in my opinion should be pretty high up in that middle class of the top-10. That certainly falls within the Flyers range, and despite Eklund being a winger, it would be hard to blame the Flyers for jumping on the chance to draft Eklund.
What scouts are saying
“The younger brother of San Jose young gun William Eklund, Victor is a sub-six-foot winger who plays a speedy, high-energy two-way game with a nice skill level. He projects as a top nine NHL forward who could elevate to top six.”
“I’ve got a lot of time for Eklund, but most do. He’s a 2006 who played 30 pro games in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan last year, registering 10 points and looking like he belonged. He has taken another step this season, producing regularly at the pro level and impressing as one of Sweden’s better forwards at the World Juniors. He also stood out on a team that needed him to be an impactful top-six player as a 2025 at last year’s U18 worlds and had a strong World Junior Summer Showcase leading into the season.
The younger brother of Sharks first-rounder William Eklund, Victor gets above-average grades for his smarts, skill and skating, but he’s also a standout competitor who works and plays hard for a 5-foot-11 winger. He wins races. He keeps his feet moving. He gets inside body positioning. He can play the bumper or the flank on the power play. He finishes his checks. He’s got great edges and handles, and a quick and accurate wrister. And he plays an intuitive, heady game on and off the puck. I think he’s got the tools to develop into a nice top-six player in the NHL. He’s a smallish winger but as with William, Victor has proven through smarts, skill, good feel for the game and determination — William was always a determined player but Victor checks that box with even more emphasis — that he can make it work. I don’t expect him to get picked as high as his brother, who was drafted seventh by the Sharks in 2021, but he looks like a worthwhile top-10 pick and certainly top-15 in this class. He’s a very good, likable hockey player.”
As Eklund goes off, another player comes into the poll! This time, it’s winger Lynden Lakovic of the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors who joins in on the fun.
“I’ll admit that after our interview with Lynden Lakovic, I’m a little bit biased in his favor. He just seems like a kid who sees the game similarly to how I do. Tactically, procedurally, logically and from a bird’s eye view featuring everyone he’s on the ice with. Similar to Martone, Lakovic just drives great results in almost every discipline. I think people are down on him a bit because of his size and clear lack of physicality and hitting ability, but frankly I don’t think that’s a huge hurdle. Sure, he might need to gain a bit more of an edge to be more effective defensively in the NHL, but the skating ability, skill, reach, and finishing ability is undeniable and awesome. Similarly to Martone, I don’t think Lakovic is a central line driver, but he’s an elite complimentary piece working give and goes in the neutral zone well, with great puck touches and anticipation skill before receiving pucks. He rarely takes a poor shot in the offensive zone, protecting the puck well and looking for seams and pathways to better scoring areas, driving some of the best shooting metrics among my highly tracked players. In the offensive zone, he’s simply lights out, with great forechecking ability, strong playmaking metrics and remarkable finishing ability. 56% of Moose Jaw’s offensive output has flowed through Lakovic somehow, and without him that team would be completely different. I don’t know what his NHL future is, but to me if you don’t get a Porter Martone, Lynden Lakovic might not be a bad consolation prize.
