William
Eklund
L · OTT · Balanced · Above average
- PAL
- 61
- WAR
- 0.2
- Value
- 78
- PTS
- 53
2025-26№ 291 / 615
William Eklund (Ottawa Senators) stats and profile: offensive production, ice time, advanced stats, WAR and PAL rating.
William Eklund
#27LPlays: Left wing · 2% of faceoffs
Ottawa Senators
HEIGHT : 178 cm · WEIGHT : 84 kg · SHOOTS : L
Born : October 11, 2002 · Stockholm, Sweden
Drafted : 2021 · SJS · round 1, pick #7
Contract : $5,600,000 · 2026-27 → 2028-29 · Standard Contract (Extension) · RFA · Signing bonus $1,000,000
NHL record
| Year | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | Ottawa Senators | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2025-26 | San Jose Sharks | 78 | 15 | 38 | 53 | 32 |
| 2024-25 | San Jose Sharks | 77 | 17 | 41 | 58 | 29 |
| 2023-24 | San Jose Sharks | 80 | 16 | 29 | 45 | 30 |
| 2022-23 | San Jose Sharks | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 2021-22 | San Jose Sharks | 9 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| NHL totals | 256 | 51 | 114 | 165 | 101 | |
Honours
- 🏆 E.J. McGuire Award of Excellenceonce · 2020-21
William Eklund: our analysis
2025-26 season: 78 GP, 15 G, 38 A, 53 PTS, -31 +/-, 18:32 TOI. WAR 0.2 (291st of 615) · PAL 61, above average.
In 2025-26, William Eklund, 24, posts a PAL Rating of 61 out of 100 (above average), and his WAR of 0.2 ranks 291st among 615 regulars, in the top half.
His strengths: discipline (78, well above average), offense (69, above average) and power play (69, above average).
Breaking down his WAR (goals above average), his biggest contribution: EV offense (+2.2); his biggest cost: finishing (-7.3).
A marked decline: his PAL was 74 in 2024-25, against 61 now; his WAR went from 1.1 to 0.2.
Contract-wise, his Value score of 78 (very good contract) weighs his output against what he costs: 50 is what that salary should buy.
William Eklund's story
Born 12 October 2002 and raised in Haninge, William Eklund came up through the local ranks before moving into Djurgården's development program. He progressed through the club's J20 Nationell squad, gaining experience and production over two seasons that prepared him for professional play. Hockey runs in the family: his father Christian also spent years at Djurgården, a background that framed William's early path to the senior game.
Eklund made his SHL debut on 4 January 2020 in a road victory at IK Oskarshamn and saw his role expand the following season. In 2020–21 he featured in 40 games for Djurgården, scoring 11 goals and totaling 23 points; those numbers earned him SHL rookie of the year and Sweden's junior player of the year honours, and positioned him as a top international prospect ahead of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.
Selected seventh overall by the San Jose Sharks in 2021, Eklund signed a three-year entry-level contract on 16 August 2021. He recorded his first NHL point in his debut month, then returned to Sweden after nine NHL appearances to continue his development without burning the opening year of his deal. He spent substantial time with the AHL's San Jose Barracuda in 2022–23, notching 17 goals and 41 points in 54 games, and scored his first NHL goal on 14 March 2023 before undergoing shoulder surgery later that month.
Eklund reached several milestones with San Jose: his first NHL hat trick came on 6 April 2024, and he completed full seasons in 2023–24 and 2024–25 with increasing offensive totals. On 1 July 2025 he signed a three-year contract extension with the Sharks. On 23 June 2026 San Jose traded him, along with Kasper Halttunen and the rights to Brandon Svoboda, to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for the ninth overall pick in the 2026 draft.
Internationally, Eklund debuted for Sweden's senior team on 28 April 2021, contributing a goal and an assist in a friendly versus Denmark. A positive COVID‑19 test prevented his participation at the 2021 World Juniors, and an injury curtailed his availability for the 2025 World Championship. His game is defined by playmaking and offensive instincts cultivated through junior success and early professional minutes.
Facts drawn from Wikipédia, told in our own words.
Advanced stats
- TOI/GP
- 13:56
- PP TOI/GP
- 2:22
- SH TOI/GP
- 0:10
- Pts/GP
- 0.50
- EV points
- 1
- Hits
- 1
- Blocks
- 1
- Takeaways
- 1
- Corsi % (SAT)
- 53.2 %
- Off. zone starts
- 25.0 %
Stats and photos: NHL (NHL.com)
2026-27 projection
Projected points
43between 22 and 64 (80% range)
- Goals
- 13
- Assists
- 30
- Games
- 60
So far: 2 pts in 4 games. The team has played 18 of 84 games. Projected pace: 0.72 pts per game (last season: 0.68).
The projection follows last season's pace. Tested on 2,265 player seasons (2022-23 to 2025-26): average miss of 9 points over 82 games; for players at 0.9 points per game and up, it ran 5 points high on average.
Trend
Slight decline
- Points per game: 0.56 in 23-24, 0.68 in 25-26
- PAL Rating: 74 → 61
Outlook, age included
→ StableAge 23: usually still improving
This is only a projection. It knows nothing about injuries, trades or role changes; one player in five finishes outside the range.
Player ratings, 2025-26
All ratings →Fourteen ratings from 0 to 100 drawn from data, never by hand: 75 = established NHL player, 95+ = elite.
Injured reserve· Ankle· expected back January 5
OV · OverallConfidence 81 %
78
Established NHL
- SK
- Skating
- 73
- Confidence 73 %
- ST
- Strength
- 60
- Confidence 84 %
- EN
- Endurance
- 89
- Confidence 75 %
- DU
- Durability
- 74
- Confidence 77 %
- CK
- Checking
- 69
- Confidence 84 %
- FG
- Fighting
- 74
- Confidence 60 %
- DI
- Discipline
- 84
- Confidence 84 %
- FO
- Faceoffs
- 59
- Confidence 43 %
- PA
- Passing
- 82
- Confidence 81 %
- SC
- Scoring
- 68
- Confidence 81 %
- DF
- Defense
- 78
- Confidence 78 %
- PS
- Penalty shot
- 92
- Confidence 43 %
- EX
- Experience
- 57
- Confidence 100 %
Why these ratings?Hide details
SK — Skating73
- Top speed (35 %)35.9 · 73
- Bursts > 20 mph /60 (30 %)4.796 · 72
- Distance /60 (20 %)16.2 · 77
- Speed consistency (15 %)35.2 · 75
ST — Strength60
- Contact absorbed /60 (50 %)3.319 · 67
- Body mass (50 %)-1.139 · 64
EN — Endurance89
- Ice time per game (45 %)17.4 · 87
- Total ice time (20 %)1,395 · 86
- Shift length (15 %)51.6 · 89
- Lowest recent ice time per game (15 %)16.8 · 88
- Special-teams time per game (5 %)3.215 · 86
DU — Durability74
- Share of games played (100 %)0.813 · 74
CK — Checking69
- Hits /60 (70 %)3.086 · 68
- Lowest seasonal rate (20 %)2.372 · 67
- Season volume (10 %)4.291 · 76
FG — Fighting74
- Fights per 82 games (100 %)0.801 · 74
DI — Discipline84
- Net penalty value /60 (50 %)0.055 · 84
- Penalties taken /60 (30 %)0.594 · 77
- Penalties drawn /60 (20 %)0.912 · 80
FO — Faceoffs59
- Faceoff % (85 %)46.5 · 62
- Faceoffs /60 (15 %)9.451 · 35
PA — Passing82
- Primary assists /60 (40 %)0.975 · 86
- Secondary assists /60 (20 %)0.531 · 78
- Offensive creation (RAPM) (20 %)0.08 · 75
- Power-play points /60 (10 %)4.551 · 79
- Assist consistency (10 %)0.634 · 81
SC — Scoring68
- Goals /60 (25 %)0.74 · 63
- Individual xG /60 (20 %)0.891 · 76
- Finishing (goals − xG per shot) (20 %)-0.828 · 53
- High-danger chances /60 (15 %)1.501 · 79
- xG per shot (10 %)0.083 · 84
- Shot attempts /60 (10 %)13.9 · 74
DF — Defense78
- RAPM defense /60 (35 %)0.055 · 81
- Relative xG against (20 %)-0.084 · 80
- On-ice xG against /60 (15 %)2.722 · 69
- Penalty kill /60 (10 %)0.055 · 82
- Takeaways − giveaways /60 (10 %)-1.766 · 69
- Shot attempts against /60 (5 %)59.9 · 66
- Blocked shots /60 (5 %)2.675 · 80
PS — Penalty shot92
- Shootouts (60 %)33.5 · 85
- Penalty shots (40 %)30.2 · 93
EX — Experience57
- Career regular-season games (65 %)78
- Career playoff games (25 %)0
- NHL seasons (10 %)61
OV — Overall78
- SC · Scoring (28 %)68
- PA · Passing (22 %)82
- DF · Defense (18 %)78
- SK · Skating (12 %)73
- EN · Endurance (8 %)89
- DI · Discipline (5 %)84
- ST · Strength (4 %)60
- CK · Checking (3 %)69
| Season | OV | SK | SC | DF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 78 | 73 | 68 | 78 |
| 2024-25 | 78 | 72 | 69 | 76 |
| 2023-24 | 70 | 70 | 69 | 74 |
| 2022-23 | 70 | 70 | 77 | 71 |
The bars show confidence (sample size), not player quality. — : not enough data, not a zero. Engine version 1.0.
WAR and PAL ratings, 2025-26
How we rate →PAL Rating scores performance from 0 to 100 against players at the same position (50 = average player), starting from the player's strength, offensive or defensive. Value Rating compares that performance with what the player costs: 50 means paid what the play is worth.
WAR
0.2
wins above replacement
291 of 615
PAL Rating
61/ 100
Performance · Above average
172 of 476 at the position
Value Rating
78/ 100
Very good contract
0.86 M$ · expected PAL 35
ProfileBalancedNeither end dominates
- Offense
- 63
- Defense
- 61
See full detailsHide details
- Offense
- 69
- Creation
- 55
- Shooting
- 52
- Possession
- 57
- Defense
- 60
- Discipline
- 78
- Power play
- 69
- Penalty kill
- 62
From 0 to 100; 50 is the average player at the same position, adjusted for ice time.
| Season | Team | WAR | PAL | Value | Cap hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | SJS | 0.2 | 61 | 78 | 0.86 M$ |
| 2024-25 | SJS | 1.1 | 74 | 88 | 0.86 M$ |
| 2023-24 | SJS | 0.4 | 31 | 49 | 0.86 M$ |
Hockey IQ, 2025-26
Rankings and method →The quality of the player's decisions with and against the puck at 5-on-5, against regulars at the same position (50 = average). PAL measures output; IQ measures how the player plays.
Overall IQ
81/ 100
Very good
better than 81% of forwards, offense and defense combined
Offensive IQ
83/ 100
Very good
passing, shots, puck
Defensive IQ
54/ 100
Average
takeaways, discipline, own zone
Overall IQ isn't an average of the two scores: it's the player's rank with offense and defense combined, 79 of 424 forwards.
See full detailsHide details
Offense
- Playmaking passes
- 69
- Shot selection
- 80
- Penalties drawn
- 77
- Puck management
- 38
Defense
- Takeaways
- 27
- Discipline
- 53
- Safe zone exits
- 74
Percentiles: 80 means better than 80% of regulars at the same position. Play without the puck (positioning, coverage) isn't measured: the NHL doesn't publish that data.
| Season | Team | IQ | Off. | Def. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | SJS | 81 | 83 | 54 |
| 2024-25 | SJS | 71 | 74 | 54 |
| 2023-24 | SJS | 58 | 69 | 41 |
WAR, 2025-26
How it's calculated →Wins added to the team, compared with a replacement-level player called up from the AHL.
0.2
wins above replacement
-1.1 to 1.4 — 90% interval
291 of 615 forwards
+1.2 goals above replacement
Full leaderboard →See full detailsHide details
- EV offense
- +2.2
- EV defense
- +1.3
- Power play
- -0.2
- Penalty kill
- +0.0
- Shooting
- -7.3
- Penalties
- +1.5
- Average → replacement
- +3.7
In goals.
| Season | Team | GP | WAR | 90% interval | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | SJS | 78 | 0.2 | -1.1 to 1.4 | 291/615 |
| 2024-25 | SJS | 73 | 1.1 | -0.4 to 2.8 | 140/596 |
| 2023-24 | SJS | 80 | 0.4 | -0.6 to 1.7 | 252/608 |
| 2022-23 | SJS | 8 | 0.0 | -0.2 to 0.4 | 357/617 |
Player tracking (NHL EDGE)
League EDGE leaderboards →Speed, shot power, distance covered, time by zone: measured by chips in the puck and shoulder pads. 90th percentile = better than 90% of players.
- Hardest shot
- 124.9 km/h23rd percentileleague avg. 130.1 km/h
- Top skating speed
- 32.8 km/h5th percentileleague avg. 35.2 km/h
- Bursts over 20 mph, season
- 310th percentileleague avg. 21
- Offensive zone time
- 47.5 %94th percentileleague avg. 43.1 %
See full detailsHide details
- Total distance, season
- 14.0 km15th percentileleague avg. 52.2 km
- Distance, single-game high
- 4.98 km66th percentileleague avg. 4.52 km
- Offensive zone at 5v5
- 45.2 %97th percentileleague avg. 42.4 %
- Neutral zone time
- 18.0 %45th percentileleague avg. 16.8 %
- Defensive zone time
- 34.6 %97th percentileleague avg. 40.1 %
Shooting
| Shots on goal | Goals | Shooting % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | 925th percentile | 139th percentile | 11.1 %38th percentile |
| High danger | 646th percentile | 034th percentile | 0.0 %10th percentile |
| Mid range | 119th percentile | 054th percentile | 0.0 %32nd percentile |
| Long range | 153rd percentile | 092nd percentile | 0.0 %87th percentile |
Shots on goal by zone
2026-2027 regular season. Measured by puck and player tracking chips; the percentile ranks the player within the league.
Game log, 2026-27
PHI
DET
BOS
TORWilliam Eklund: frequently asked questions
How many goals does William Eklund have in 2026-27?
William Eklund has 1 goal and 2 points (1 assist) in 4 games in 2026-27.
How old is William Eklund?
William Eklund is 24 years old: he was born on October 12, 2002.
How tall is William Eklund, and how much does he weigh?
William Eklund is 5'10" (178 cm) and weighs 185 lb (84 kg).
Where is William Eklund from?
Sweden: William Eklund was born in Stockholm, Sweden.
What team does William Eklund play for?
William Eklund plays for the Ottawa Senators in the NHL, at L, wearing number 27.
Is William Eklund injured?
Yes: William Eklund is on injured reserve (ankle). He is expected back around January 5.
How good is William Eklund?
William Eklund produced 0.2 wins above replacement (WAR) in 2025-26, 291st of 615 players at his position in the NHL. His PAL rating is 61 out of 100: above average for his position.
How much does William Eklund make?
William Eklund earns $863K for the 2025-26 season. His Value Rating is 78 out of 100 (very good contract): it measures the on-field return for that salary, compared with players at his position.
When does William Eklund's contract end?
William Eklund's contract runs through the 2028-29 season; he will then be a restricted free agent.
Is William Eklund overpaid?
No, he gives more than he costs. His Value rating is 78 out of 100 (very good contract), where 50 is the output expected for his salary, compared with players at his position.
Is William Eklund a top-10 player at his position?
No: by WAR, he ranks 291st of 615 players at his position in the NHL in 2025-26. Our comparison tool puts him side by side with any other player.
Is William Eklund getting better?
No, he is slipping: his PAL rating went from 74 in 2024-25 to 61 in 2025-26 (out of 100, 50 = average player at his position).
How has William Eklund played lately?
Over his last 4 games, William Eklund has 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist).
What are William Eklund's career stats?
Over his NHL career, William Eklund has 256 games, 51 goals, 114 assists and 165 points. His best season: 2024-25, with 58 points in 77 games.
Where was William Eklund drafted?
William Eklund was drafted 7th overall (round 1) by San Jose Sharks in 2021.
How does William Eklund perform in the playoffs?
William Eklund has not played in the NHL playoffs yet.
Which player is most similar to William Eklund?
Alex Steeves: he is the player at his position whose PAL profile (the 0-to-100 dimensions) is closest to his in 2025-26.
Alex Steeves's page →Is William Eklund a good fantasy pick?
A useful depth pick: our projection has him at 43 points in 2026-27, or 0.72 points per game.
Does William Eklund have siblings?
Yes: his brother Victor Eklund (drafted 16th overall by the New York Islanders in 2025).
Is William Eklund related to anyone famous?
Yes: Christian Eklund (father, former ice hockey player who also played for Djurgården).
What is William Eklund's nationality?
William Eklund is Swedish. Internationally: Sweden: made his senior team debut on 28 April 2021 (1 goal, 1 assist); named to the preliminary Swedish junior roster for the 2021 World Junior Championship but tested positive for COVID-19 and did not join the final roster; named to Sweden's 2025 World Championship roster but injured in a pre-tournament game.
What awards has William Eklund won?
SHL Rookie of the Year, 2021 ; Swedish Junior Hockey Player of the Year, 2021.
Where did William Eklund play before turning pro?
Djurgårdens IF (J20 Nationell), joined in 2018–19; made his senior debut for Djurgården on 4 January 2020.
How many points is William Eklund projected to score in 2026-27?
Our projection has him at 43 points in 60 games in 2026-27 (22 to 64 points, 80% interval), based on his recent seasons, age and role.
See also: his Ottawa Senators teammates
Full roster →
NHL.com ↗ · Stats and photos: NHL (NHL.com)