How a 160-Pound Swede is Transforming the Islanders’ Identity
By Hayden Shapiro
As rookie Ivar Stenberg and the San Jose Sharks celebrated their eight-round shootout victory, the Islanders found themselves in the California dressing room with just one point. The win stopped a five-game skid for the Sharks, and the contest saw every ounce of potential from young goalie Yaroslav Askarov. Askarov stonewalled a grade-A chance for Bo Horvat in overtime, then another from the Islanders captain with under a minute left in the extra period. Macklin Celebrini played nearly all of that OT, too. The Sharks may have found their footing: a young core with plenty of savvy veterans, plus some crucial in-game shenanigans that fuel the home crowd. The odd thing is, New York might have identified their missing piece in the heartbreaking loss: 20-year-old winger Victor Eklund.
At just five-foot-11 and 160 pounds, Eklund profiles as a relatively small forward, but his physicals hardly tell the story of the player he is. The Stockholm, Sweden-born Eklund compensates for what he lacks in size with an infectious motor, relentless aggressiveness, and a willingness to play a much more physical brand of hockey than his frame suggests. He thrives in more demanding areas of the ice, areas no one else wants to go, and does so with a passion. There is a noticeable disconnect when opposing players realize what the Swede is about, and this element of surprise continues to benefit the Islanders.
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Last season, Mason Marchment took a run at superstar teenager Matthew Schaefer. It drew bodies off the bench and resulted in penalty minutes. When the two teams met for the first time this year, it was Marchment again taking a run at an Islanders youngster. Eklund had previously smashed Sharks veteran Kieffer Sherwood into the boards, and Marchment took exception to his linemate being hit. The former Dallas Star grabbed hold of the 20-year-old Eklund and fed him gloveless uppercuts while the referee tried to separate the two. Marchment was assessed a double-minor, and the Isles were set to hit a four-minute power-play, all because a tweener decided to play like an enforcer, but that is just what Eklund does.
Eklund has scored thrice in the last three games. He was moved up to the first power-play unit, where he initially started on the goal line, but worked his way into a slot position because of his aforementioned toughness and grit. He also has a wicked one-timer, a move he has pulled out four times this season, scoring on two of them. Eklund is able to get the puck off of his stick so fast that playing him in the slot was the right option, and the reinforcements thought to force Eklund off of the first unit might just help his case to stay put.
Mathew Barzal and Matias Maccelli are both born playmakers, guys who can enter the neutral zone with ease and set up an offensive zone play. With Eklund now finding his footing, both of them will be jumping into a crucial role in setting up the Swede and his teammates on the power play and at even strength. Eklund’s tenacity in the middle of the ice will only benefit Barzal, whose speed and passing have dazzled on Long Island since his rookie year. When Barzal has the puck, defenders gravitate towards him, opening up room for Eklund to fire away. Maccelli is not as fast as Barzal, but will have no problem finding number 38 in blue and orange.
As the season grows older and Eklund does, too, the Islanders remain tiptoeing on the invisible line that separates sellers from buyers. The line then turns into an identity: what teams are contenders and what teams are not, but finding said identity has been made easier by a 20-year-old Swede.
