Senators fans will have to wait a little bit longer to see William Eklund on home ice, but on Monday, the winger will make his long-awaited debut.
Alongside his new teammates, Eklund will take to the ice at Colisée Vidéotron in Trois-Rivières — just down the road from the small community of Saint-Boniface — which was named the Kraft Hockeyville 2025 winner and earned the opportunity to host an NHL preseason game.
“You play the game for them, and it’s an honour to be out there today, and to play these big games, so I’m just happy for them,” said Eklund after morning skate on Monday about the chance to play in front of children from a small community.
“I just remember myself being around the big teams in Sweden, and stuff like that, it was a pretty cool experience, and seeing those guys up [close] like that, happy to make that happen [here].”
Travis Green has placed Eklund on the left wing of Dylan Cozens throughout training camp, across from his former San Jose Sharks teammate Fabian Zetterlund. Eklund and Zetterlund have picked up where they left off three seasons ago.
“It’s great, you know, obviously [Fabian and I] were in San Jose together, came into the league that way, and were strong together, so it’s been fun to play with him here,” said Eklund.
“I’ve liked [the line] so far in camp, [but] it’s still early. Like everyone knows, you can be a good line in training camp — can you be a good line in the regular season? Be good to see them in a game tonight,” said Green.
Across the last three seasons, Eklund has missed only 11 games, and has scored 15 or more goals each campaign, even with an uncharacteristically low shooting percentage of 8.5 per cent last year. He’s also had more than 50 points each of the last two years.
“We knew he was a good hockey player coming in. As a coach, you don’t really know until you see a player on the ice, and we’ve seen him now for four days,” said Green.
“[We’ve] liked what we’ve seen, he’s got a high level of skill. He’s a hungry player, which is what we talk about a lot, be good to see him in a game now.”
Drake Batherson was also asked about Eklund’s skill after morning skate.
“Yeah, lots of skill, he does a great job at keeping plays alive, hunting pucks down, but a super smart player who can make plays and score too, so we’re excited to have him, and can’t wait to see him tonight out there.”
