World Juniors: Sweden's Victor Eklund Enters The Spotlight

This year's world juniors will be a feast for draft lovers, as many of the top players available for 2025 will be present in Ottawa.

One of the names that hasn't gotten a lot of mainstream buzz yet is Victor Eklund, the left winger from Sweden. Eklund first put in a good performance for the Swedes at the World Junior Summer Showcase in Michigan. As the kid on the roster, he also made sure to soak up info from his older teammates, some of whom had already played at the World Junior Championship.

"They're just super kind, and I love those guys," Eklund said. "They were very welcoming, and it's been an honor to play with them. It's really cool."

Now Eklund has a chance to put his own stamp on the world juniors as part of the 2025 Tre Kronor squad. With 15 points through 24 games, he has also been one of the top teenaged scorers in the Allsvenskan, Sweden's second-best professional league.

Playing for the legendary Djurgarden club, Eklund and his older teammates have an obvious goal this season: Get the Stockholm-based team promoted back up to the SHL. Djurgarden, the most successful team in Swedish history, hit a bump in the road when it was relegated to the Allsvenskan in 2022. The team got to the promotion final the past two seasons but couldn't win it.

"I'll take it how it comes," Eklund said. "We'll try to get Djurgarden up to the SHL. The third time's the charm as they say, so hopefully it goes well."

The last time Djurgarden was in the SHL, one of their top young talents was William Eklund, the San Jose Sharks left winger and Victor's older brother. So how was William as an older brother when they were growing up?

"He was pretty tough," Victor said. "That's why I think he is where he is today. Mentally, he's (strong). He competes for everything - and so do I, so it's just really fun. We still compete today."

And does Victor ever have the edge?

"Probably video games," he said. "I pretty much always beat him at Fortnite, so I'll take that one."

Related: 2025 NHL Draft Rankings: Ferrari's Pre-World Juniors Top 64

Based on how his draft year is going, however, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Victor could be as good or even better than William when all is said and done. On top of his skill, Victor plays a high-motor two-way game, which helps explain how he made the world junior squad at his age. A big fan of Matthew Tkachuk, Eklund wants to work on getting stronger along the boards and adding some weight to his 5-foot-11, 161-pound frame.

In the meantime, he has the chance to show the hockey world that 2025's top draft prospect pool at the world juniors isn't limited to North Americans.

Related: World Juniors: The Lowdown On Sweden And Finland's Rosters

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