The NY Islanders have a pit bull in first-round draft pick Victor Eklund

Despite having the first overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, morale felt low among Islanders Nation after the Boston Bruins selected James Hagens seventh overall. The dream of bringing the local boy home ended, but fortunes changed with the 16th and 17th overall picks.

With pick No. 16, the NY Islanders selected Victor Eklund from Djurgardens of the HockeyAllsvenskan in Sweden. An undersized winger with the heart of a lion, Eklund has the drive and tenacity to overcome what he lacks in size.

Victor Eklund has that dog in him

"The truth of the matter is, Eklund has been nothing short of outstanding for two seasons now," Chapin Landvogt, Central European Scout for McKeens Hockey, tells Eyes on Isles. "He's a little bulldog, if not a pit bull at times. He goes where it hurts, and he has no problems battling in the slot and along the boards. He doesn't get rattled. I mention that right off the bat because his size is anything but ideal, which I suspect was the key reason he didn't go top 10, although most every expert and agency saw him there."

Playing among men in the second tier of Swedish hockey, Eklund, alongside Anton Frondell, the third overall pick to the Chicago Blackhawks, helped Djurgardens win promotion back to the SHL after three seasons.

Still 18 years old, Eklund led Djurgardens in goals with 19, and finished fifth on the team in points with 31, ahead of Fronell in both categories.

"Offensively, Eklund is a very smart complementary player with a nice wrister and an underappreciated one-timer," says Landvogt. "He can zing the biscuit. He has slick hands and can be a magician around the net, be it in the form of deking out defenders and/or the goalie, or deceptively finding an open teammate in chaos. Incredibly telling this spring was that right on up through the championship series, in which he had four points in five games, is that he was still out there on the powerplay with established Swedish scene stars. Thus, the coaching staff was thoroughly convinced of his game, even in the biggest of series."

Eklund is being seen in North America for the first time this week at development camp and will likely return to Djurgardens for the upcoming season, where he'll face stiffer competition in the SHL. Progressing in his development will make his fall to No. 16 in the draft look all that much better for the Islanders, but it already appears they have a good one for the future.

"Islanders fans should be extremely excited about Eklund's possibilities," Landvogt says. "And getting him at No. 16 definitely looks like one of the absolute highlights of the first round, for any team."