Ottawa Senators · Left wing · Shoots L

William Eklund

Age 23 · 5'10" · 185 lb · Born in Stockholm, SWE

Cap hit

$5.6M

5.4% of $104M cap

Term

3 yrs

Through 2028-29, then RFA

Clause

None

Surplus value

+$2.319M

vs. $7.919M market estimate

Confirmed by the public signing announcement · source

2026-27 regular season

Goals

0.0% shooting

Assists

0 primary

Points

0.00 per game

TOI/GP

16:16

PP 4:31 · PK 0:26

Plus/minus

Hits

Blocks 0

PIM

Game Score

+0.10

per game

Game log

Last 5 games · NHL API

Game	G	A	SOG	HIT	BLK	TOI	PP	PK	FO	OZS%	GV	+/-	GS
Oct 3 @ TOR · W 3-2	0	0	4	1	0	16:16	4:31	0:26	—	50	1	0	+0.10
Apr 16 @ WPG · W 6-1	1	2	3	0	1	14:24	0:59	0:17	—	100	0	+2	+3.25
Apr 15 @ CHI · L 5-2	0	0	1	1	0	17:03	2:53	0:53	—	50	1	-1	+0.14
Apr 13 @ NSH · W 3-2	0	1	1	2	0	16:57	0:37	0:25	1-0	22	1	-2	+0.61
Apr 11 vs VAN · OTL 4-3	0	0	3	2	0	18:32	2:19	0:00	—	60	1	0	+0.05

GS = our Game Score (credit for everything he did; goals and assists count most). FO = faceoffs won-lost. OZS% = share of his 5v5 offensive and defensive zone faceoff starts that were in the offensive zone. GV/TK = giveaways/takeaways.

Advanced metrics

5v5 unless noted · 2025-26 · 1,106 min · percentile vs. NHL forwards

xGF%48.5%

44th percentile

Relative xGF%+2.0

70th percentile

HDCF%47.9%

42nd percentile

CF%50.1%

61st percentile

Relative CF%+4.5

92nd percentile

FF%49.4%

50th percentile

GF%43.1%

26th percentile

CF/6057.1

58th percentile

CA/6056.8

58th percentile

ixG/601.27

75th percentile

Goals above expected-8.4

2nd percentile

IPP66.0%

55th percentile

PDO97.1

19th percentile

OZS%45.4%

28th percentile

xGF% is his team's share of 5v5 expected goals while he was on the ice, from our own expected goals model; HDCF% counts only high-danger chances (xG of 0.15 or more). IPP is the share of his team's 5v5 goals while he was on the ice that he scored or assisted on. Relative stats compare him with his team when he was off the ice. Goals above expected and ixG/60 use his own shots at all strengths. PDO and OZS% describe luck and deployment, so their bars are grey.

Play stylePlaymaking winger

Trait percentiles vs. NHL wingers · 2025-26

Eklund is an elite pass-first creator who generates chances through exceptional playmaking vision and skill in dangerous areas. He plays a perimeter game that relies heavily on generating plays rather than direct shot attempts, and lacks the physicality and forechecking intensity to drive play in tighter spaces.

Elite playmakerRush attackerPass-first

Shooting volume: 52
Playmaking: 91
Zone entries(est.): 5
Forechecking: 34
Physicality: 37
Defensive impact: 51
Puck management: 47
Speed: 57

Where he shoots from

Slot 56% · Mid-range 36% · Perimeter 9%(247 unblocked shots)

Strengths

91st percentile playmaking creates high-volume scoring chances for teammates
57th percentile speed enables effective rush-chance generation and transition play
56% slot-shot distribution shows dangerous finishing-area positioning

Watch-outs

5th percentile rush chances limits his ability to create early-offense opportunities
34th percentile forechecking means limited impact on puck recovery in opponent zones
37th percentile physicality reduces effectiveness in board battles and space creation

Similar style: Lucas Raymond (DET), Conor Garland (CBJ)

Built from play-by-play, shift data, and NHL EDGE tracking. Zone entries is an estimate (rush chances while he is on the ice) until tracking data is added.

Career stats

From the NHL's player records

NHL regular season NHL playoffs All leagues

Season	League	Team	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2014-15	WSI U13	Sweden Selects U13	9	3	5	8	—	4
2015-16	U16 Div.1	Djurgårdens IF U16	1	0	0	0	—	0
2016-17	U16 Div.1	Djurgårdens IF U16	23	12	13	25	—	8
2016-17	U16 SM	Djurgårdens IF U16	8	1	7	8	—	4
2017-18	U16 Div.1	Djurgårdens IF U16	3	3	4	7	—	0
2017-18	TV-Pucken	Stockholm Syd	6	0	8	8	—	4
2017-18	J18 Elit	Djurgårdens IF J18	19	6	16	22	+12	8
2017-18	J18 Allsvenskan	Djurgårdens IF J18	17	3	10	13	+9	10
2017-18	U16 SM	Djurgårdens IF U16	7	3	9	12	—	4
2017-18 (playoffs)	J18 Allsvenskan	Djurgårdens IF J18	4	1	2	3	+2	2
2018-19	J18 Elit	Djurgårdens IF J18	13	4	5	9	+7	4
2018-19	J20 SuperElit	Djurgårdens IF J20	13	1	2	3	-3	6
2018-19	J18 Allsvenskan	Djurgårdens IF J18	13	6	7	13	+5	4
2018-19 (playoffs)	J20 SuperElit	Djurgårdens IF J20	8	2	4	6	+5	0
2018-19 (playoffs)	J18 Allsvenskan	Djurgårdens IF J18	4	3	5	8	+7	0
2019-20	Hlinka Gretzky Cup	Sweden U18	5	1	4	5	+3	2
2019-20	J20 SuperElit	Djurgårdens IF J20	31	12	24	36	+16	22
2019-20	J18 Elit	Djurgårdens IF J18	1	0	3	3	+1	0
2019-20	SHL	Djurgårdens IF	20	0	2	2	-2	4
2019-20	Champions HL	Djurgårdens IF	2	0	0	0	-2	2
2019-20	J18 Allsvenskan	Djurgårdens IF J18	1	0	0	0	-1	2
2020-21	SHL	Djurgårdens IF	40	11	12	23	-2	2
2020-21 (playoffs)	SHL	Djurgårdens IF	3	1	1	2	+2	2
2021-22	NHL	San Jose Sharks	9	0	4	4	-3	2
2021-22	SHL	Djurgårdens IF	29	1	13	14	-7	4
2021-22 (playoffs)	SHL	Djurgårdens IF	4	1	0	1	-1	0
2021-22 (playoffs)	J20 Nationell	Djurgårdens IF J20	2	1	1	2	-1	4
2022-23	NHL	San Jose Sharks	8	2	1	3	-5	6
2022-23	AHL	San Jose Barracuda	54	17	24	41	-12	43
2023-24	NHL	San Jose Sharks	80	16	29	45	-45	30
2024-25	NHL	San Jose Sharks	77	17	41	58	-7	29
2024-25	EHT	Sweden	2	1	0	1	0	0
2025-26	NHL	San Jose Sharks	78	15	38	53	-31	32
2026-27	NHL	Ottawa Senators	1	0	0	0	0	2

Every league he has played in, from the NHL's records, regular season and playoffs.

Latest news

Headlines from news outlets and team blogs

William Eklund will be the Senators' breakout star for 2026-27
SenShot · Oct 1
No. 9 Keaton Verhoeff: San Jose’s hope on the backend
fearthefin.com · Sep 30
Training Camp Begins in Ottawa
senschirp.ca · Sep 17

Sentiment & chatter

Fans

—

Beat writers

—

Media

—

Fan, beat writer, and media scores, the 14-day trade chatter chart, and the latest mentions appear once sentiment scoring is switched on. Mentions are already being collected.

Recent Game Scores

Last 10 games · goals above average

+2.0

+2.0TOR4/2

+0.7

+0.7NSH4/4

+2.4

+2.4CHI4/6

+0.8

+0.8EDM4/8

+0.0

+0.0ANA4/9

+0.1

+0.1VAN4/11

+0.6

+0.6NSH4/13

+0.1

+0.1CHI4/15

+3.2

+3.2WPG4/16

+0.1

+0.1TOR10/3

Average +1.01 per game over these 10.

Where his Game Score comes from

+0.68 per game

2025-26 · 78 GP

Season total +52.8, or +0.68 per game.

Scoring: +39.2
Shooting: +13.2
5-on-5 goals: -2.3
Defense: -0.4
Physical play: +4.0
Puck battles: -2.4
Penalties: +1.5
Faceoffs: -0.1

Game Score gives credit for everything a player does in a game. Goals (1.0) and assists (0.7 primary, 0.5 secondary) count most; shots, blocks, hits, takeaways, penalties drawn, faceoff wins, killing penalties, and holding down the other team's chances add to it. Only mistakes subtract: goals against at 5-on-5, giveaways, penalties taken, faceoff losses, and allowing more chances than an average player would. A player who is there to defend or kill penalties is not marked down for not scoring. Goalies are measured by goals saved above expected.

Skating · NHL EDGE

2025-26, as of Oct 2

Top speed: 22.3 mph; 53rd pct
20+ mph bursts: 111
Hardest shot: 89.3 mph; 79th pct
Distance: 229.5 mi
OZ time: 45.9%; 93rd pct
DZ time: 36.7%

Usage

Last game: @ TOR, Oct 3

Line 3 with Fabian Zetterlund and Dylan Cozens (6:14 together at 5-on-5) · PP1

From the NHL's shift chart.

Age curve

At 23: 99% of peak

NHL forwards · production index

202937

At 23, forwards typically produce 99% of their peak (age 24). His contract runs through age 25, when the typical level is 100%.

From 24 seasons of NHL results, adjusted for league scoring and save percentage in each era. Shaded bars are the seasons left on his contract.

Contract by season

3 seasons left

Season	Team	Cap hit	% of cap
2026-27	OTT	$5.6M	5.4%
2027-28	OTT	$5.6M	4.9%
2028-29	OTT	$5.6M	—

RFA after 2028-29. $16.8M in cap hits left. % of cap uses each season's ceiling where the league has set one ($104M this season, $113.5M in 2027-28).