I really like Weatherby tbh

Happy Eklund made it, I picked him up in fantasy.

He's better than I thought. Skates well for a big guy, screens the goalie very well. Our bottom six needed size so badly.

Sadly the "big guys who are good" always still get prioritized over the "smaller guys who are superb" like, I have never felt Power was better than Eklund

My draft was Beniers Eks Johnson Power

Feeling pretty good about it

Mine was also Beniers-Ek-Power - Minus Johnson

is it SJ wrongly thinking they're ready to compete

Or is Eklund just SO FLIPPING GOOD lol

My guess is both ✔

It’s mostly playoffs.. u rarely see smaller guys having the same impact then bigger ones

But yeah the NHL is definitely trending toward smaller players

Look, I don't expect they'll make the playoffs but I also don't see a bottom 10 finish. 2019 was terrible. 2020 was stacked against them from the start as they started the first 16 games on the road and didn't go home for over a month due to having TC in Arizona. This is the first camp in 3 years where the guys are upbeat and excited. Eklund isn't the savior this year but as a committee Bonino, Cogliano, Dahlen, Hill and Eklund are going to make this team a surprise to many. And with Bordeleau probably coming next year and Wiesblatt as well we're not as bleak as we we're this time last year.

Patrick Kane being one of the exceptions.

And Point

Not sure if that should make me impressed by Eklund or extremely disappointed in San Jose's roster.

I wish the Devils traded up for Eklund
He is going to be a stud

Trust me, You will be impressed. He's the real deal.

Sharks LW is very weak, but he was the best player almost every game, he’d be in the lineup anyway.

I'm sure he is. Byfield is the real deal as well. He could have been on the NHL roster last season. The Kings wisely chose to let him develop in the minors.

The Sharks and Ducks playing Eklund and MacTavish, respectively, in the NHL this season is a mistake, IMO.

And what evidence do you possess to prove this? Pray tell, what relating strictly to Eklund makes you believe he needs another year in the SHL?

He's a King's homer, doesn't like the Sharks and Ducks having prospects jump in out of the gate. Though Byfield will be good.

That makes sense.

For once Bob Boughner did something good that could save his job

The fact that he's 18 years old and has never played on North American ice. I don't think he needs another year in the SHL. I think he needs a year in the AHL. I understand he has a European assignment clause, but if San Jose tells him that he has a better shot of entering the NHL sooner if he plays in the AHL, I'm sure he'd be happy to waive it. Helge Grans has a European assignment clause, but the Kings told him that if he played in Ontario, he'd fastrack his way into the NHL. Guess where he's playing this season?



You can call me a homer if you want to. I thought it was a mistake to have Lafreniere, Kakko, Hughes, and HIschier in the NHL for their 18 year old seasons as well, and said as much. It just so happens that the examples this season are from San Jose and Anaheim.

This is not evidence of anything. It is an opinion based on nothing. I respect that you have an opinion but you've offered nothing relative to the point. As I suspected.

I'm not sure what evidence you're looking for other than inductive proof. With very few exceptions, 18 year olds don't do well when rushed to the NHL. Guys like McDavid and Matthews are the exceptions, and when Shane Wright enters the NHL next season, I'd expect that he's likely headed straight for the NHL as well (he's been playing on NHL-sized ice his entire life). So I guess I'll offer up a quote from Luc Robitaille as my "evidence."

Turns out not so crazy after all.