Victor Eklund of Sweden sees Summer Showcase as ‘good opportunity’ to impress

PLYMOUTH, Mich. -- Victor Eklund is hoping to achieve something his older brother and role model, William Eklund, never experienced.

A chance to represent Sweden at the World Junior Championship.

Victor Eklund, a 17-year-old right wing, is one of 10 players eligible for the 2025 NHL Draft to be invited by his country to the World Junior Summer Showcase here at USA Hockey Arena.

He's trying to make the most of a great opportunity despite being the youngest player on the roster.

"I'm just glad I get the chance and hopefully I'm going to play well," Eklund told NHL.com. "It's a good opportunity for me to show myself."

Eklund (5-foot-10, 152 pounds) is slight in stature but has shown a good work ethic, a quality he learned from his brother. William Eklund had 45 points (16 goals, 29 assists) in 80 games as a rookie with the San Jose Sharks last season.

"He's a slick player," Victor said of William. "I can see some similarities between us, but I think I'm good near the boards. I guess I consider myself somewhat of slick player, but not as slick as my brother.

"The thing I admire in him is his ability to make those quick turns in tight; it's just amazing to see him play for the Sharks now. I mean, he had a pretty good season and it's just super cool to have a brother in the NHL. His journey to the NHL gives me hope."

Victor said the relationship he had growing up with William benefitted both of them when it came to hockey.

"Our friendship was hilarious; we played each other all the time," Victor said. "We were fighting about everything, and that was probably the main factor for me to want to play hockey. I don't think he would be that good today if we hadn't been on each other every day. We were competing over everything, and we still do today, even though he's four years older than me."

Victor feels fortunate to be working on a line with Linus Eriksson, who was selected by the Florida Panthers in the second round (No. 58) of the 2024 NHL Draft, at the summer showcase.

"He tells me everything about Florida's development camp and it sounds so great,” Eklund said. “He's a really good player; he's like my dad on the line. I always ask him things if I don't understand stuff and he's helped me."

Sweden coach Magnus Havelid has liked what he's seen from Eklund during the early stages of camp.

"He competes very hard but he does it in a smart way," Havelid said. "He has really good skill in 1-on-1 situations; he can slow it down but can also be explosive with power, a trait his brother possesses. He has a good shot but he just needs to grow a bit. He had a good season with the elite team in Allsvenskan late last season and he's going in the good way right now. I'm excited to see him here and in a few games."

Eklund had 25 points (seven goals, 18 assists) in 30 games with Djurgarden's team in Sweden's junior league before his promotion to play for Djurgarden in Allsvenskan, Sweden's second division, where he had four points (one goal, three assists) in 15 regular-season games and six points (two goals, four assists) in 15 playoff games.

He also helped Sweden to a bronze medal at the 2024 IIHF World Under-18 Championship with six points (four goals, two assists) in seven games in May.

Eklund will return to Djurgarden to further his development this season.

"Victor played on the men's team in Allsvenskan and showed he was great in many areas, but especially I liked his attitude and willingness to score," NHL director of European Scouting Jukka-Pekka Vuorinen said. "He's the guy you can't leave alone in front of the net. Technically he needs to improve his skating, but he has good speed."

Eklund is a projected late first- or second-round pick in the 2025 draft but isn't looking too far ahead at this point in the season.

"I'm not thinking about that too much and would rather just go with the flow, but it would be fun to be drafted," he said. "I mean, it's a pretty big thing. I remember when my brother was drafted. It was during COVID-19, so the draft wasn't at an arena, but we watched the broadcast from home. I was sitting beside him (when San Jose selected him No. 7 in the 2021 NHL Draft).

"After he was drafted, we both got up and hugged; a moment I'll never forget."