Why this Sharks forward could crack Sweden’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster

SAN JOSE – It feels like William Eklund has flown under the radar for the San Jose Sharks this season.

While some other players on the Sharks roster have warranted attention through the first six-plus weeks, Eklund has quietly gone about his business during what has so far been a solid sophomore NHL season.

Perhaps that’s why Eklund has rarely been discussed as a candidate to crack Team Sweden’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off that begins in February. But with each country’s 23-man roster due on Monday, Eklund has seemingly amassed a resume worthy of consideration.

After Friday’s NHL games, Eklund was fifth among all Swedish-born forwards with 22 points, trailing only New Jersey’s Jesper Bratt (29), Los Angeles’ Adrian Kempe (23) and Detroit’s Lucas Raymond (23).

Going into the Sharks’ game against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday, Eklund carried a four-game point streak and led the team in November with 14 points in 14 games. Winger Fabian Zetterlund, another candidate for Sweden’s roster, had 11 points in 14 games.

But beyond Eklund’s stats is his improving 200-foot game. He’s routinely played against the opposing team’s top lines and evolved into one of the Sharks’ most relied-upon penalty-killing forwards.

“He’s a smart player,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Eklund. “His hockey IQ is extremely high. He knows what’s going on in the game within his shift. We use him on the penalty kill, and usually, you have to have a high IQ for that.

“In today’s game, with power plays so deadly and creative, you need to have some smarts on the penalty kill, where in years past, you had your third, fourth line guys (filling that role). Now, you see a lot of top guys penalty killing, just because the level of IQ and the power plays are so high.”

Eklund ranks eighth among all Swedish NHLers in average shorthanded time on ice per game (1:34). After Friday’s games, the Sharks had a penalty kill percentage of 80.5, tied for 11th-best in the league.

That ability to kill penalties and match up against skilled lines is probably Eklund’s best hope to be one of Sweden’s 13 forwards for the event, which will see games held in both Boston and Montreal. Rosters will be announced on Wednesday.

Eklund said he has spoken with Team Sweden coach Sam Hallam, who has been behind the bench for Tre Kronor for the last two World Championships. Eklund said playing in the best-on-best event has been somewhere in the back of his mind but added he’s not dwelling on whether he’ll make the team.

“It’s nothing I focus on too much,” Eklund said. “They’ll make the decisions they want to make. I’m just trying to do the best I can.

“I’ve tried to focus on my everyday work here and see what happens.”

Eklund last represented Sweden in an international event at the IIHF 2022 World Junior Championship in Edmonton. The tournament, though, was canceled just three days after it started, as several players tested positive for the coronavirus.

Eklund, taken seventh overall by the Sharks at the 2021 NHL Draft, then decided not to participate in the next World Junior tournament, also in Edmonton, in August 2022, choosing instead to focus on the start of his North American professional career.

The 4 Nations Face-Off, which features 23-player teams from Canada, the United States, Finland, and Sweden, is the first best-on-best international hockey tournament since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, which featured Joe Thornton, Brent Burns, and Logan Couture on the victorious Canadian team.

Each team will carry 20 skaters and three goalies. Forwards already named to the Swedish team are Nashville’s Filip Forsberg, Toronto’s William Nylander, and the New York Rangers’ Mika Zibanejad.

Other forwards considered in the mix for Sweden include Bratt, Kempe, Raymond, Vegas’ William Karlsson, Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson, Minnesota’s Joel Eriksson Ek, and Boston’s Elias Lindholm.

Could Eklund be an asset to Team Sweden? Considering his point totals (22 points in 25 games) and penalty-killing attributes, probably. If not now, then soon.

“I think I’m having a way better season this year than last year so far, and I feel way better about my game,” Eklund said. “Obviously all the players deserve credit.”