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There was no fanfare around a decision that was so obvious as to preempt suspense, but Thursday marked confirmation that the Islanders are planning for Victor Eklund to be around for the long haul this season.
Since the Islanders’ 3-2 defeat to the Kings in overtime was Eklund’s 10th game with the club this year, the Swede — who scored a power play goal in the loss— will officially burn a year of his entry-level contract. That is, of course, exactly what should happen, with Eklund having passed every test so far this season with flying colors.
“Honestly, we’ve played some teams, and some GMs go, ‘You know what, I noticed Eklund,’ ” Isles general manager Mathieu Darche said Wednesday. “He’s not the biggest guy, but even in the third yesterday, he’s one against three on the forecheck. He comes out from behind the net with the puck. He’s relentless. He has a dog-on-a-bone mentality.”
Indeed, though there was question about whether Eklund’s 5-foot-11, 175-pound frame would prove a hurdle to his effectiveness in the NHL, it hasn’t. The 20-year-old’s most evident qualities have been his physicality, play away from the puck and battle level, with an unusual level of detail in his game.
“I think his habits are really good naturally,” coach Pete DeBoer said earlier this week. “I think he’s got a defensive conscience to his game naturally that he showed up here with. And you combine that with he’ s a really smart kid, so he’s picked up the details of what we want to do fairly quickly.”
The lack of similar qualities often is what makes coaches slow to trust young players. While the Islanders haven’t quite gone into the deep end as far as throwing Eklund into defensive zone faceoffs or minutes late in the third period, they’re not going out of their way to shelter his matchups either.
“He’s not a guy that’s gonna cheat the game for offense,” DeBoer said. “He’ll take his offensive opportunities when they’re there, but he’s got a real good defensive conscience when he’s on the ice, which is really rare for a young guy.”
Thursday was the 43rd regular-season game and 55th game including playoffs between Pete DeBoer and Peter Laviolette.
DeBoer now holds a 23-18-2 regular-season record against Laviolette’s teams, with an 8-4 record in the playoffs, winning series in 2012 (with the Devils against Laviolette’s Flyers) and 2016 (with the Sharks against Laviolette’s Predators).
Semyon Varlamov made his first start on home ice since Nov. 25, 2024, but is still searching for his first win since returning from two partial knee replacements.
Matthew Schaefer’s 24th goal as a teenager tied Bobby Orr as the second-most all-time for a teenage defenseman.