Victor Eklund Shares Draft Emotion, Development Camp Advice From William

Another Eklund is en route to the NHL. Rather than making an impact in the Bay Area, though, Victor Eklund will eventually be heading to Long Island.

The brother of the San Jose Sharks’ William Eklund was selected 16th-overall in the 2025 Draft by the New York Islanders.

However, it didn’t come without some nerves for Victor. He had a productive season in the second tier of Swedish hockey, the HockeyAllsvenskan, scoring 19 goals, which is an impressive feat for an 18-year-old. As a result, many experts had him ranked in the top-10 of the draft. Once the draft started, though, he started slipping. 

Once the Islanders took the podium, they selected Eklund with their second pick of the night, behind first-overall selection Matthew Schaefer.

“It was pretty emotional,” he said about hearing his name called. “This has been a dream since I was young. [It was] definitely emotional and exciting.” After he was selected, the Islanders also added defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson 17th overall. 

The younger Eklund didn’t go through the experience alone, though, as he had older brother William along for the ride. In William’s draft year, everything was done virtually. As a result, the No. 7 pick of the 2021 Draft never experienced a normal draft.

“It meant everything. For [William to go] through this, he didn’t get to do it; he did it online, so it was pretty special for him, too,” Victor said before adding, “He’s my [biggest supporter].”

While the rest of the Eklunds wore Islanders hats to celebrate Victor being drafted, William stayed loyal to the San Jose Sharks and didn’t participate. Victor was asked by Islanders media if he wanted his brother to wear the hat of the team that drafted him, and he replied with a chuckle, “I don’t think he should have. He’s [with] San Jose, so people would’ve probably written about it if he had, so he’s best off without it.”

William was certainly supportive of his brother back in April during the San Jose Sharks‘ exit interviews, telling San Jose Hockey Now: “He’s a real hard worker and I know what he brings every day, I’ve seen it on a daily basis. [Any] team who’s going to be drafting him is going to be happy.”

While Victor doesn’t think William will use his lower draft position against him for bragging rights, calling him “too nice”, he did credit his older brother for inspiring him to reach this point. “Ever since William was drafted, I knew one day I wanted to get drafted, so here I am.”

Victor attended the Islanders’ development camp earlier this week, telling the media that his brother was, “Just trying to tell me to have a lot of fun, to enjoy it. Because obviously [not everybody gets] the opportunity to be here, so just have lots of fun.”

William Eklund reacted to the news of his brother getting drafted by the Islanders, stating, “It was really cool, to be honest. I wasn’t able to experience being there and seeing it live [in my Draft], so it was really cool. He enjoyed it, I enjoyed it, my family enjoyed it, so we had a great time, and I’m happy for him. Long Island is getting a great player.”

Victor Eklund also noted that he’s planning on returning to Sweden following the Islanders’ development camp, which concluded on July 3. 

Although the Eklunds won’t be teammates at the NHL level, games between the San Jose Sharks and the New York Islanders will have a little more meaning once Victor cracks the NHL roster.