Victor Eklund refused to take no for an answer in badgering his Tier 2 Swedish league coach Robert Kimby to have him play on the same line as long-time friend Anton Frondell last season.
“Yeah, I think I told him 10 times,” Eklund recalled at the NHL pre-draft combine in Buffalo earlier this month. “And he was like, `Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don’t know.’”
And then, one day after the Christmas break the two got their wish in eventually helping Djurgarden win a championship, and propel the pair to the top of central scouting’s rankings of international skaters.
Frondell, a center, is ranked first and a candidate to be selected as high as No. 2 by San Jose at the NHL draft in Los Angeles on Friday. He’s a powerful playmaking skater who had 11 goals and 25 points in 29 games last season, second among league players 18 or younger.
Eklund prides himself as a pesky winger, and regarded as a top-10 selection after finishing ahead of Frondell with 19 goals and 31 points in 42 games last year.
“I just knew from the beginning that if we got the opportunity, we’d take it and be the best line,” said Eklund, whose older brother, William, was a 2021 first-round pick (No. 7), and completed his second full season with San Jose. “The coach probably got sick of me asking.”
The two have known each other since playing on competing teams as 10-year-olds in Stockholm. And they’ve been teammates since 2021.
“I remember he actually made a move on me, like the puck between my legs,” Eklund said. “He says he doesn’t remember it, but I do.”
Sitting next to Eklund, Frondell responded with a smile, saying: “I actually do remember that move.”
Pigskin to pucks
Mason West was so pre-occupied juggling football and hockey as a high school junior, the 17-year-old didn’t realize he was entering his NHL draft-eligible year.
That’s before the 6-foot-6, 215-pound hockey center/quarterback from Edina, Minnesota, got his invite to the NHL scouting combine.
“I was just taking it one day at a time,” said West, who is committed to play at Michigan State, and had a goal and nine points in 10 games as a rookie with Fargo of the USHL this year.
“I didn’t really know the NHL stuff was going to happen this year,” added West, ranked 27th on central scouting’s list of North American skaters. “I kind of just kept working hard and opportunities came my way. So I’m just going to keep the same mindset.”
After splitting his time at football and hockey evenly, West went all-in on hockey following the opportunity to play in the USHL. He’s not giving up entirely on football yet entering his senior high school season.
“I try to set goals for the football and hockey year to try to win a state championship in both,” said West, who describes himself as a pocket-passer in football. “I’ve been able to do that in hockey, but not football yet. So that’s kind of the reason I have to go back and maybe win one.”
West’s idol is New York Islanders captain Anders Lee, who is from Medina, and also played quarterback in high school.
Trading picks
One draft pick has already changed hands this week, with No. 117 (a fourth-rounder) going from Vancouver to Edmonton for Evander Kane, and plenty more are expected to get traded through Saturday.
Maybe even the 27th selection by the Washington Capitals. Just don’t tell assistant GM Ross Mahoney.
“Any chance we trade the pick? What are you doing to me? I’ve been working all these months trying to — yeah, there’s always a chance that a pick could get moved,” Mahoney said. “When you’re on the amateur side, you love to make picks. That’s your job. That’s what you do as a group. But if you’re making a trade to acquire an asset that you think is going to improve your team … you go with that.”
Mathieu Darche said the Islanders aren’t trading out of the top spot. San Jose and Chicago are next, and Utah’s Bill Armstrong said he and counterparts around the league have had discussions about the No. 4 pick.
“It’s very rare that it’s done that you could move from four to two or two to one,” Armstrong said. “But, do you have to explore it? Yes. That’s part of my job every morning. I wake up and go to work and see if we can better the pick or if we can come up with different options to maximize where we are.”
Ice chips
Yes, Boston College center James Hagens has seen the “Bring Hagens Home” bumper stickers when back home on Long Island. “It was pretty funny, gives you a good smile,” said Hagens, who grew up an Islanders fan. As for whether he made eye contact with the person in the car with the sticker, central scouting’s top-ranked U.S.-born prospect laughed and said: “Nah, I just tried to put my head down as he drove by.” … Since 2015, 11 U.S.-born players have been selected among the top-five picks, including Auston Matthews (2016) and Jack Hughes (2019) going No. 1. … Among mother-son hockey connections, Arizona State forward Cullen Potter’s mother Jenny was a four-time U.S. Olympian. She was a member of the 1998 gold medal-winning squad, and holds the U.S. record with 32 career points in Olympic competition — five more than Hilary Knight, who is set to make her fifth Olympic appearance in February.
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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.
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