Sharks Eklund looks to lead Sweden to world junior gold
San Jose Sharks fans will only have one chance to cheer at the Junior Under-20 World Championships (U-20 WJC) starting on December 26 in Alberta, Canada. Although he stands alone representing the sharks, William Eklund is the prospect fans should be most excited about. After nine games with the Sharks this season that made us all want more, Eklund returned to his Swedish club Djurgardens IF. Eklund’s mission now is to hold on to the Sharks full time from the 2022-23 season, and the U-20 WJC’s performance is a big step towards realizing that goal. Here is a look at how Eklund manages to influence the team Sweden.
Intended for SHL Relegation Battle
Eklund’s SHL team is at the bottom of the table and the leading scorer in the team is former shark Marcus Sörenson. Djurgardens IF has only won once since Eklund returned to action on 18 November. He seems to be doing his thing with five points in the nine games he has played; there is simply not much support. Djurgården seems to be meant to fight Jonathan Dahlens former team Timra IK to avoid relegation to the Allsvenskan. This will be an important test for the young Shark forward to see if he can become a leader in this struggling team.
Team Swedens Outlook
According to oddsmakers, Team Sweden has one legitimate shot on winning the 2022 U-20 WJC. According to various sites, they are somewhere between fourth and fifth most likely to win. Of course, Team Canada and the USA lead the way, but Russia and Finland should also be in the mix. It is difficult to judge exactly how well the Swedes are doing because their latest tournament was derailed several positive covid which forced their coaches and several players, including Eklund, to miss the 2021 U-20 WJC. The former team never really gelled and lost to Finland in the quarterfinals.