San Jose Sharks
GOTTA SEE IT: 3 Times Eklund Made Jets Miss
William Eklund’s nickname, per Brent Burns, is the Gecko because of his elusiveness.
According to Weatherby, it was Burns (naturally) that coined the nickname "The Gecko" for Eklund: "He's got some experience with lizards, I hear."
Weatherby says another nickname is "Big Ecky"
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 14, 2021
San Jose Sharks president Jonathan Becher spun off that to dub him “Geklund” – and Nick Flohr of the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast made an accompanying Photoshop.
We have officially dubbed him "The Gecklund" 🦎#TheGecklund | #SJSharks | #THPN | #HockeyTwitter pic.twitter.com/tKVoQo3caJ
— San Jose Hockey Now Podcast (@sjhockeynowpod) October 16, 2021
Whatever nickname you prefer – Jasper Weatherby also suggested “Big Ecky” – the San Jose Sharks rookie was making the Winnipeg Jets miss left and right in his NHL debut.
In truth, it was an up-and-down debut for the 2021 seventh-overall pick, but Eklund did earn his first NHL point, an assist on Tomas Hertl’s third period power play goal, and most importantly, the San Jose Sharks came out of their season opener with a 4-3 victory over the visitors.
But my lasting memory of Eklund tonight will be him making the Jets look like Keystone Kops on three occasions.
Eklund makes Dillon miss (though granted, Eklund turns it over) pic.twitter.com/rB29gnb18K
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 17, 2021
The Gecko is at it again: Harkins hurts himself trying to hurt Eklund pic.twitter.com/KbDzFU8oii
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 17, 2021
That’s big Logan Stanley (64), by the way.
It’s something that I noticed as far back as a couple weeks ago: The smallish winger had a talent for eluding heavy punishment while still managing to make plays.
.@Sheng_Peng drops a "great" name when describing William Eklund's playing style👀
We list the pros and cons of William Eklund making the #SJSharks roster below ⬇️⬇️⬇️
🎧–> https://t.co/Due4KGkwZZ#SJSharks | #THPN | #HockeyTwitter | #DraftKings – Promo Code THPN pic.twitter.com/SjTEwIEXzb
— San Jose Hockey Now Podcast (@sjhockeynowpod) October 7, 2021
Logan Couture actually had another superstar in mind when I asked him about William Eklund’s elusiveness then:
Couture, on Eklund's ability to avoid getting hit hard: "1st guy that comes to mind is Patrick Kane. Try to find a time where Kane got hit hard in open ice. Not very often. They just see the game. They're almost a step or two ahead, where they see guys coming with their vision."
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 7, 2021
You figure the NHL is going to catch up at some point? Those were some big boys after the 19-year-old tonight.
That said, Eklund has shown a talent for adapting. He’s gotten better and better from development camp to the rookie tournament to preseason.
We’ll see what’s next for the Sharks’ wunderkind.
